A Truly Sensational Seven Barrel Matchlock Arquebus, Brescia, ca. 1530, in Prague!

[Matchlock]

Thank you for appreciating these, Alexender,

More on similar Italian multibarrel arquebuses coming soon!

Best,
m

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Michael,
As a complete novice at medieval guns, aside from sharing in the obvious accolades on what a fantastic piece this is, all I have is lots of questions.

Aside from the fact that walnut is a favored wood in N. Italy, what in particular would distinguish this as Brescian?

What caliber does 10mm & 8mm translate into? If these are standard calibers would this technically qualify as a caliver?, as was often a term for lighter arquebus' of standard bore.

With these being smoothbore, why would a sight be needed or used? and presumably the three forward barrels might have been fired simultaneously to achieve the 'volley fire' method to ensure a hit.

As always, I wonder about decorative motif, and is there distinguishable parallel in other Brescian weapons that might be compared ?

How soon after these matchlock arquebuses did the German wheellock mechanism begin use in Brescian guns?

A virtual 'barrage' of questions I know but these guns really are fascinating, and though I have difficulty with the mechanisms, I think the history of the developing types is most interesting.

Thank you Michael as always, for sharing these!!!

All the best,
Jim

[Matchlock]

Hi Jim,

Thank you for your demanding questions. I will try and do my best in responding.

In older threads I posted a short North Italian Landsknecht snap matchlock arquebus of ca. 1525-30 from my collection, plus a longer but very similar sample of ca. 1540 from the collections of the Royal Amouries Leeds:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7542

Fragments of similar items were found in the wreck of the Mary Rose, and it is known that Henry VIII had ordered hundreds of those and had them delivered from gunsmiths in the Val Trompia, and especially Brescia. That city has been renowned for its gunmakers thru the centuries. As both the shape of the buttstock and the design of the lock with its snapping seahorse serpentine, as well as the stylized acorn shaped ends of the lockplate, are nearly the same on all these guns, including the characteristic iron carving of the barrels, we may safely atribute the group of guns to a some Brescian workshops.

The barrel calibers were in no way standardized by then, and the term caliver, as I pointed out earlier - though of course deriving from caliber - , did not appear until the late 16th century when it meant a matchlock or wheel-lock infantry gun which was shorter, lighter and of smaller caliber than the heavy and long musket.

Though all early gun barrels were smoothbore they used to have quite exactly made sights since as early as the 1470's. Whether they actually were of much use is hardly known. Perhaps the shooter just felt better when exactly aiming.

As to the decorative motifs, the above mentioned North Italian Renaissance style was copied at large, and very soon in Germany as well.

Personally I am convinced that the question of the origin of the wheel-lock, Italian or German, is not yet settled at all. I cannot tell too much but I could acquire an extremely early original combined snap matchlock and wheel-lock dated 1527. Much more investigation has to be done! It is the world's earliest known matchlock/wheel-lock combination, and in some features quite close the crossbow/wheel-lock combination of ca. 1521-26 in the Bavarian National Museum posted here some months ago (please see my thread list). And: that crossbow combination was made in Italy ... !

Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

For comparison, I repost some photos of the Tusco-Emilian guns in my collection and in the Royal Armouries Leeds.

m