Dating Earliest Barrels: the Importance of the Position of the Touch Hole

[Matchlock]

A heavy tiller wall gun (German: Doppelhaken) retaining its original long tiller (oak?) stock, ca. 1500-10; barrel of round section throughout, conical touch hole, swamped muzzle; long, rectangular hook.
Overall length 1.74 m.
Sold Hermann Historica, Munich, 14 October 1988.

m

[Matchlock]

A heavy, fully stocked wall gun (Doppelhaken), most probably Austria, ca. 1515-20, the barrel of round section throughout, with elongated, swamped, octagonal muzzle section (decisive for assigning its date), one edge turned upward to act as a foresight, small touch hole located on half-right side, with large hollowed pan-like trough to hold the priming mass and guide the igniting iron; attached to the oaken full stock by two 'folded' iron bands, the hook pulled over the barrel by a cuff, scroll buttstock.
Overall length 178 cm.

These heavy wall guns were no longer long guns, they actually were the smallest pieces of artillery, often mounted on a tripod, and served by two men, aimer and igniter (Richt- und Feuerschütze).
Source of period artwork from Jörg Kölderer's illustrations of 1507, from the arsenal inventories of the Tyrolean armories of King Maximilian I.

Sold Hermann Historica, Munich, 22 April 1988.

[Matchlock]

Another heavy wrought-iron tiller haquebut barrel, ca. 1500-10 (wall gun, ganzer Haken), the wooden tiller stock broken off but remains of oak retained in the socket; round socket, barrel octagonal to round, with stepped, pointed, pierced hook placed unusually far at the rear, at about 40 per cent of the overall length of the piece, large touch hole with hollowed igniting pan beneath, located at half-right position; short, swamped, round muzzle section accentuated by a small roped frieze ('Maximilian' style muzzle, Maximilianischer Mündungskopf).
Length overall 108 cm, weight ca. 10 kg.

Sold Hermann Historica, Munich, 22 April 1988.

[Spiridonov]

Michael, thank You so much. You share photos of a lot of barrels which I have not seen before. It's a really rich food for my mind. I need some time to comprehend this information

[Matchlock]

It's my turn to say thank you for reading, Alexender, my friend,


It took me four decades, including taking more than 180,000 photos, to gather together all the information and sort of transform its essence into dating criteria, which now have to be digested. I realize that.


Hang on, please,
'cause there's a lot more to come.


Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

Another attachment to post #1:

a light wrought-iron tiller haquebut (German: Halbhaken), of octagonal section throughout, with round rear socket, slightly swamped muzzle, and retaining its orignal tiller stock, ca. 1430-50. The touch hole is not shown but must be located on the top flat of the barrel.
Preserved in the Statens Historiska Museum Stockholm.
Barrel length 59.5 cm, maximum outer diameter 4.2 cm, bore 21 mm, weight 4.935 kg.


m

[fernando]

Yes Michl, long goes this thread/work, in which you show us and teach us a lot, for which we may only feel much obliged.
To lend the thread a touch of "variety", allow me post the oldest specimen kept in the Portuguese Maritime Musem, which i have twice visited and from which i keep a catalogue on the Artillery thematic.
It is known by the name of "Aljubarrota trom" although, contrary to tradition, it would have never been in this memorable battle. (quoting catalogue author Colonel Nuno Valdez dos Santos; now deceased ).
The text also says that, with its half ton weight and 1,5 mts. length, this is no more than a (loading) chamber from a huge trom or gross bombard, which possible had a 4 to 5 meters length.
Pity that when i was there i didn't take a (clandestine) picture of its touch hole. Maybe when you come down to Lisbon we go there and do it .

.

[Raf]

Found this (ex Bonhams) that looks like its been cut down from something early.

[fernando]

A beauty in your collection, Michl
... or a circumvented touch hole .


.

[Matchlock]

Originally Posted by fernando

A beauty in your collection, Michl
... or a circumvente touch hole .

Indeed, 'Nando,

I have never seen anything like that piece again, and I am very glad I bought it from an old Austrian blacksmith who was not willing to part with it for weeks.

Best,
Michl

[Matchlock]

Originally Posted by Raf

Found this (ex Bonhams) that looks like its been cut down from something early.

Thanks for sharing, Raf,



Yes, this barrel with rich magic markings was sawn off.

It somehow managed to escape my attentiveness; when was that Bonhams sale?

I attached images of a barrel struck with similar magic markings, early 15th c., and two other, similar.


Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

Three remarkable wrought-iron barrels from Montjuic Castle, near Barcelona, Spain:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...light=montjuic

They came from a U.S. dealer who had many more, all deacessioned from that castle.


The first one is the plainest of this group of three; it is in my collection.
It is a small tiller gun (German: Viertelhaken), ca. 1430-40, of round section throughout, with short, early-style reinforced, octagonally accentuated breech (still loaded!), small touch hole (ca. 2 mm) on top, in the center of a hollowed trough, the round socket retaining a heavily wormed portion of its original wooden tiller stock; the crudely wrought barrel tapering towards the short, swamped, round and bell-mouthed muzzle section; no sighting.
The socket inscribed in ink now turned yellowish:
CASTiLLO de BERNAT (the rest illegible)
BARCELONA SPAIN (again the rest illegible)
1331 . A.D.
Very few other barrels are known to feature a notably reinforced breech section; they all date of the beginning and the first half of the 15th c.
Preserved in optimum, virtually untouched condition.
Overall length 72.6 cm, barrel length 56.2 cm, bore ca. 21 mm, somewhat irregularly.

The second is highly notable for its socket folding for transport: another Viertelhaken, ca. 1440-50, of round section throughout, with seven reinforcing rings, the short rounded breech pierced with an irregular small touch hole on top amidst a round trough, the round socket inscribed similar to the first, equiped with a threaded double-scroll wingnut and folding down with the wingnut loosened (the wooden tiller stock missing), and short, round, swamped muzzle section.
Barrel length 45.5 cm, bore 12 mm.

The third of similar small dimensions, of round section throughout, the long, reinforced, round breech with small touch hole on top, accentuated by three raised bands, the foremost two crudely roped, the long, round, integrally wrought iron tiller bent upwards and terminating in a swamped mushroom-shaped knob. On the ground of the two roped bands, I would tend to date this 'late 15th c.', but then again, all the remaining criteria are so close to the other two barrels that these roped friezes may be a later addition.
In all, this tiller gun should be attributed to the mid-15th c as well.
Exact measurements not recorded.


m

[Matchlock]

Originally Posted by fernando

Yes Michl, long goes this thread/work, in which you show us and teach us a lot, for which we may only feel much obliged.
To lend the thread a touch of "variety", allow me post the oldest specimen kept in the Portuguese Maritime Musem, which i have twice visited and from which i keep a catalogue on the Artillery thematic.
It is known by the name of "Aljubarrota trom" although, contrary to tradition, it would have never been in this memorable battle. (quoting catalogue author Colonel Nuno Valdez dos Santos; now deceased ).
The text also says that, with its half ton weight and 1,5 mts. length, this is no more than a (loading) chamber from a huge trom or gross bombard, which possible had a 4 to 5 meters length.
Pity that when i was there i didn't take a (clandestine) picture of its touch hole. Maybe when you come down to Lisbon we go there and do it .

Thanks, 'Nando,

For sharing this indeed drum-shaped specimen that's hard to date as it shows virtually none of all the important criteria.
Yes, to see the touch hole would have been the only possibilty ... Wouldn't they let you take one single photo?

Come on, just do what I used to do in such cases, especially when I did not have a special appointment and was allowed to use flaslight: when they yelled at me 'no photography in here!', I would just go on taking pictures as quickly as possible, pretending that I didn't realize it was me they were talking to. As soon as they got near I would turn around saying, 'Oh, it's me you're talking to. My hearing's not good. Sorry, Sir, my fault.' By then, of course I mostly had what I needed.
What can they do, after all? They won't eat ya up.

Best,
Michl

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Matchlock

... this indeed drum-shaped specimen that's hard to date as it shows virtually none of all the important criteria....

... But certainly end XIV-latest beg. XV century ?!

Originally Posted by Matchlock

...What can they do, after all? They won't eat ya up...

Oh, i'm the acid type; if they eat me, they'll get an indigestion

[Matchlock]

Originally Posted by fernando

... But certainly end XIV-latest beg. XV century ?!

Literally any date might be assigned to it, from ca. 1350 to ca. 1500; I really can't tell.
I doubt whether it is complete though; looks like a cut-down fragment.

m