The invention, or at all events the first application of these weapons for the purposes of warfare, in the sense of the use of detonating gunpowder for the discharge of projectiles, in contradistinction to those applied merely for setting fire to buildings, is probably due to the Flemings or Italians, but the approximate date of their introduction is very difficult to trace, as early writers on the subject so often confound hand-guns with cannon, and vice versâ; besides, some of the earlier guns were innocent of any projectile whatever, being simply used for frightening horses, an office at that time far from being contemptible in repelling an onset of men-at-arms. The earliest mention of hand-guns occurs in connection with Perugia as early as 1364,53 and an inventory of Nuremberg, of 1388, refers to forty-eight of these weapons as being in the possession of that city. There are other examples of the use of what would appear to be hand-guns occurring in Italian, French, and German manuscripts of the last quarter of the century, but it is rarely absolutely clear whether artillery or hand-guns are meant, especially when the word “bombard” or “bombarde” is used, unless, as in the case of Perugia, where the dimensions are given. In German MSS. the use of the word “handbüchsen” is, of course, conclusive; and such a case occurs in connection with Ratisbon in 1379. These early “handbüchsen” or “handbombards” could not be very heavy, as there exist several “illuminations” at Vienna, where one of the two gunners who served the piece holds the weapon with his right hand, with the round thin stock against his breast; his colleague stands apart with the ramrod in his hand, apparently after having loaded the piece. One of these “illuminations” shows that the charge is being ignited near the mouth of the piece, which might go to show that the gun was innocent of projectile. These pictures would seem to date very early, probably not later than 1350–60. Juvenal des Ursins mentions a hand-gun as being in use in 1414. A Florentine writer states that these weapons were used at the siege of Lucca, in 1430; and what is still more to the point is that an actual and early specimen, made of brass, was found among the débris at Tannenberg, a castle besieged and demolished in 1399: this weapon was probably of as early make as the Nuremberg guns. It was only with great difficulty that the early rough hand-guns made their way at all against those weapons where manual or mechanical force was used. Both the longbow and crossbow were infinitely superior to the clumsy tube stuck on to the end of a stick, not only in regard to precision of aim, but also in the number of missiles that could be discharged within a given time, and it was principally on this account that these firearms are so rarely mentioned by mediæval writers. Actual specimens preserved are few and far between, and this is not surprising when one considers how very soon the weapons became obsolete in the rapid improvements that took place.

There is a connecting link between early artillery and hand-guns in various weapons from the small elementary semi-portable cannon fixed to the end of a long wooden shaft, and fired from a forked support or from a wall; and later, large models of guns of the harquebus type manipulated in the same manner. The latter form was the “arquebus à croc,” weighing up to sixty pounds, and was from five to six feet long. This class of weapon was much used in sieges, and they were sufficiently portable to be carried and worked by three or four men. Most national collections contain specimens of these firearms.

Mr. John Hewitt figures an early hand-gun, taken from the Burney MS., which is simply a replica of the weapon found at Tannenberg. Hand-cannon were being made at Augsburg in 1381. An early weapon of this kind is figured on a piece of tapestry in the church of Notre-Dame de Nantilly, Saumur. The piece is served by two soldiers, one holding it with both hands, while his comrade applies a hot coal. The form of the visored bassinet worn by these soldiers would fix the date as being late in the fourteenth century, and actual specimens of this time may be seen at the Historische Museum at Berne, and at the Germanische National Museum at Nuremberg.

In the collection at the Königl. Zeughaus, Berlin, is a hand-gun dating from late in the fourteenth century or early in the fifteenth, consisting of a stock and barrel. The former is rudely cut for the shoulder, like the butt of a crossbow, while the latter is a tube between three and four feet in length, with a touch-hole on the right side; calibre, 16mm. Some drawings of about 1430 in the Hauslab Library show similar pieces. This weapon is to all intents and purposes the prototype of the modern hand-gun, and is, in fact, a very early form of “Hakenbüchse,” one of the many names for the harquebus.

Late in the fourteenth, or early in the following century, hand-guns like small culverins, with a touch-hole on the right side, were in use and discharged from the shoulder. The weapon was fired by applying a match to the touch-hole, and the soldier had to find his way to it while he took aim. Like the Berlin example, this class of weapon was rudely fashioned to the shoulder. The hand-cannon consists of a small bombard fixed to a wooden shaft, and fired by means of a match. The following items occur in a roll of purchases of the Castle of Holy Island, in Northumberland, for the year 1446:—

Demmin gives a drawing from a manuscript dated 1472, and Herr Wendelin Boeheim that of a petronel (poitrine, the chest), a kind of hand-bombard, fired by a horseman from a forked rest fixed on to the saddle. The author has a specimen of this kind of support in his possession, which is hollow, and combines a long dagger screwed in at the top; but this accessory points to a rather later period than that of the hand-gun in question. It is an early form of linstock. The hand-gun when not in use hung suspended from the rider’s neck; it was attached by a ring to a necklace, and fired from the breast, and the left arm sustained the petronel, while the right hand manipulated the match-cord. The character of the armour on the figure would indicate a date in the second half of the century (the fifteenth), and the weapon is the prototype of the modern blunderbuss. The figure is taken from Victor Gay’s work. A still earlier example, but very similar, appears in one of a series of “notes” of great ability and industry, by Major Sixl in the Zeitschrift für historische Waffenkunde, and the features of both correspond very closely. The hand-gun of the earlier example is provided with a “hac” or spur; the horse on which the gunner is seated is unbarded, excepting for a crinet with a long spear springing from between the ears like a unicorn, while the horse of the later figure is barded, and the bassinet visored.

The first person of note that we hear of as having been killed by a hand-gun was the Earl of Shrewsbury at Châtillon in 1453.54

The type of weapon used by a contingent of three hundred Flemings in the ranks of the army of Edward IV. in 1471 was the hand-culverin; and the English Yeomen of the Guard were armed with it in 1485, as also was the Swiss contingent of six thousand men at the battle of Morat in 1476. These hand-culverins were each served by two men, one for holding the gun, and the other for applying the match, etc.; they were fired by a fuse-cord.

By the end of the fifteenth century the priming was held in a pan at the side of the barrel, and the pan was protected by a lid, which moved on a pivot. The next improvement was the attachment of the pan to the plate, and the stock was more bent. These weapons, the length and weight of which varied greatly, were in general use; the bore was usually about half an inch. Examples may be seen at the Musée des Invalides, Paris, and in many other national collections. A hand-gun of the harquebus type is figured in “The Triumph of Maximilian”; the stock is straight, and almost square. The figure bearing it wears a bandolier collar! A similar weapon, with a primitive form of serpentin, is figured in one of the books of Maximilian I., about 1500.

These early hand-guns were full of drawbacks and imperfections; an uncertain aim and form of ignition, whereby the weapons often missed fire; the long time required for loading; the cumbersome accessories, such as bullets, rest, and match; besides one granulation of powder for charging and another for priming, all combined to discredit the value of these weapons as against bills and bows; the effect of which was much more rapid in action. So much so was this the case, that owing to their dilatory habit both hand-guns and ordnance were frequently captured in battle after a first discharge, and their servers rendered hors de combat. They had practically nothing with which to defend themselves. The long dagger screwed into the butt of the rest was no match at all as against long-handled weapons, such as the gisarme, halbard, and bill. All this taxed the ingenuity of the time for the production of a surer and more reliable weapon with more simplicity of action. Here, as in the case of early crossbows, mechanical appliances came to the aid of the human arms and fingers, making the manipulation of hand firearms somewhat less cumbersome and dilatory.

The hakenbüchse, hagbut, hackbutt, hackenbuse, hequebutte, arquebus, and harquebus, are all names for the same kind of weapon, which is merely a development from the ruder forms, with a smaller calibre than the hand-culverin; but the great distinction generally observable between it and older forms is the presence of a pair of movable nippers called “serpentin,” the prototype of the “cock,” a primitive example of which has been already referred to. Hand-guns of this type, however, existed before the appearance of the serpentin; and the word “haken,” with variations, as a matter of fact refers to the “hac or haken,” which is a projecting spur of iron placed on the bottom side of the stock, near the head; the object of which was to deaden the recoil by placing the spur against a stone rampart. There are many examples in the Königl. Historische Museum at Dresden. A very early instance of the use of the “hac” occurs on a hand-gun preserved at Berne, and there are drawings in the University Library at Heidelberg of several examples of the harquebus of the fourth quarter of the fifteenth century, with the “hac,” but of course without serpentin. The oscillatory movement made in applying fire with the hand naturally caused the weapon to swerve, thus interfering greatly with the accuracy of aim; and at length the earliest form of lock called the serpentin was invented, the object of which was to let down the match mechanically. Thus we have the earliest form of matchlock, and the stock became shaped for the shoulder. Harquebuses with the serpentin gave victory to the Spaniards at the battle of Pavia. Philip de Commines mentions the weapon towards the end of the fifteenth century as a new invention.

The serpentin is adjusted on a pivot through the stock, and forms a lever for the fingers beyond it. Then, holding a match, it is brought into contact with a slow match in a holder on the barrel and ignited; then by raising the lever, it is forced into the flashpan and touch-hole, where the priming is placed, and the gun discharged. This movement is in three varieties: the earliest moves towards the pan from the stock, while later it was fixed in the opposite direction; in the third it is propelled by a snap. First manipulated by the hand, then with a lever, and afterwards by a crank in connection with the trigger. The idea of the serpentin goes back to the fourteenth century, for the Froissart preserved in the town library at Breslau shows a drawing of a hand-bombard with an elementary form of triggered serpentin; and the same adjustment occurs in representations of these primitive weapons on a drawing preserved in the Hofbibliothek at Vienna. The mainspring was a further simplification of procedure in lending a more direct action to the serpentin, which fell with greater force, and obviated the necessity for blowing on the match.

The harquebus was of several kinds and sizes, some fired from a rest, others from the shoulder or breast. There was also the heavy semi-portable weapon already referred to, served by three or four men; used both for field and fortress work. The length of the hand harquebus ranged from two and a half feet and upwards; barrels are both muzzle and breech-loaders; bores are of various sizes, sometimes very wide and bell-mouthed. The great disadvantage of the matchlock was the trouble and uncertainty experienced in retaining fire, and in it being necessary always to have a lighted match, or means of striking a light. This was especially felt in the chase, and the wheel-lock, which is said to have been invented by Johann Kiefuss of Nuremberg, in 1517, provided a much needed improvement on the older method; there is, however, at least one earlier example of this lock with the date inscribed. It did not, however, displace the matchlock for war purposes, owing to the greater cheapness and simplicity of the latter, which continued in use up to the eighteenth century. There is an example of a regimental matchlock musket at the Rotunda, Woolwich, dating about 1700—barrel, 46 inches long; calibre, 0.540 inch; steel mounts. The main principle of the wheel-lock is to generate the spark which is to ignite the powder for firing the shot in a self-acting manner, in contradistinction to the principle of the matchlock, where the ignition was served by a match which required to be kept constantly burning.

The costliness of the wheel-lock, which was made in as many as ten separate pieces, greatly restricted its use as regards hand-guns, but it was applied generally to pistols, and pieces for the hunting field. Cavalry used weapons with this lock, as it was very inconvenient to manage the match-cord on horseback, especially as it required regulating with every shot fired. Ignition was accomplished by sparks which were caused by the friction of a steel wheel, notched long and crosswise, rubbing against a flint, or by the striking of the wheel against a cube of solid pyrites. The lock was wound up by a spanner, which hung at the soldier’s belt. The main details of this lock are as follow, viz.:—A serrated wheel, connected to the backplate by a chain and spring, forming with the backplate the bottom of the flashpan, and wound up by a spanner. With the wheel-barrel is connected one end of a strong spring, by a chain, which winds round the barrel when the wheel is turned, tightening the spring until the catch of a bar drops into a corresponding notch of the wheel, thus holding spring and wheel cocked. After winding up, the trigger is pressed, releasing the wheel, which revolves round with great energy, by means of the accumulated force lent it by the winding, and coming into contact with the pyrites in the cock produces the sparks that ignite the priming in the flashpan trough, and fires the piece. Various improvements in the mechanism of this lock took place from time to time.

There are examples of wheel-lock weapons in the Tower of London dating from about the middle of the sixteenth century; a breech-loading harquebus, with a lock of something like the same date, is in the Musée d’Artillerie at Paris. A harquebus revolver, with seven barrels, may be seen in the Hohenzollern collection at Sigmaringen, and there are countless examples existing among the museums of Europe, and notably at Dresden.

During the sixteenth century, and especially in the later half, the footman wore half-armour, and usually discharged his weapon from a prop.

In a matchlock the match is lit at both ends.

The air-gun was invented in Germany in 1560. In this weapon the bellows are wound up against a spring, which is released by pulling the trigger; the receiver is in the stock, and filled by a pump.

The principle of rifling barrels was certainly applied as early as 1510, and there are very early examples of revolvers. There is one in the Tower of London with a matchlock, dating from about the middle of the sixteenth century. A patent for rifling barrels was taken out in London in 1635. It is said that the invention of grooved arms is due to Gaspard Kollner of Vienna, in 1498; other writers attribute it to August Kollner of Nuremberg, early in the sixteenth century; but whether the grooves were straight or spiral, or when they became the latter, is not so obvious; at all events, the principle was not much adopted for military arms before the seventeenth century.

The caliver is a harquebus or light musket of a standard calibre, introduced into England during Elizabeth’s reign; it was four feet ten inches long, discharged without a rest, and the fire was much more rapid than that of its predecessors, and had the great advantage of uniformity of projectile. Edmund Yorke, writing in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, says: “Before the battle of Mounguntur, the princes of the religion caused several thousand harquebusses to be made, all of one ‘calibre,’ which was called ‘Harquebuse de calibre de Monsieur le Prince.’”55

Hand-grenades of the sixteenth century were made of very coarse glass, almost slag or pottery; they were nearly three and a half inches in diameter, holding from three to seven ounces of powder.

The snaphance was the immediate precursor of the flintlock, and was a German invention of the second half of the sixteenth century, fired through the medium of sulphurous pyrites. This lock forms the connecting link between the wheel-lock and flintlock, there being a hammer instead of a wheel; the pan is the same, but the cover was moved back by a spring, leaving the powder clear for the action of the sparks. A fine collection of these weapons may be seen in the Dresden Museum.

The method of extracting fire by means of flint and steel is an ancient one, being mentioned by both Virgil and Pliny. The credit of the invention of the familiar flintlock is claimed by France, anno 1640, but an actual specimen in the Tower armoury, dated 1614, effectually disposes of this pretension. The French claim that the improvements of the screw-plate, “à miqulet,” led to the mechanism of the flintlock; but it was long before the system displaced that of the old matchlock. The musketeer continued to carry his matchlock gun up to the beginning of the seventeenth century, and even later, while the flintlock continued in use until long after Waterloo; indeed, matchlock, wheel-lock, and flintlock weapons were all to the fore together for a part of the seventeenth century.

Wheel-lock pistols formed part of the equipment of the Reiters or Pistoliers of the second half of the sixteenth century. Hefner says pistols were common in Germany in 1512, before the invention of the wheel-lock. The pistol of the Reiters, who usually wore blackened demi-armour, are very easily recognisable by the round pommel.

The pistol was often combined with other weapons, both for battle and for the chase, and such combinations are often met with in the axe, mace, and even sword; while there are instances of pistols with two and even three locks. The introduction of these weapons produced great changes in warlike tactics. The etymology of the word is uncertain, some maintaining that the name arose from the weapon having been invented in Pistoja; others believe that the word originated from a coin of the time, the pistole, from the fact, if it be one, that the bore of the weapon had the same diameter as the coin.

Hand-guns of the later middle ages and the “renaissance” may be divided into plain weapons for the ordinary soldiers, and decorated guns for leaders and parade, besides hunting purposes. Brescia was a great centre for their manufacture. Numbers of these guns were fired without touching the shoulder, the recoil being provided for by placing the thumb firmly against the nose.

The musket (muchite, so named from the sparrow-hawk), which was longer and more powerful than the harquebus, though similar in construction and mechanism, appears in the third quarter of the sixteenth century, and St. Remy refers to it as being in use about the end of the seventeenth century. It was first fired from the breast, then from a long-forked rest, furnished with a spike at the end for sticking into the ground; but this fell into desuetude in the seventeenth century. It was found very difficult to keep the powder dry in the bandoliers,56 which were cases of wood or tin, each containing a charge of powder, and strung round the neck; and powder flasks began to be used about 1540, the bullet-bag being carried on the soldier’s right hip.

Powder flasks appear very early in the sixteenth century, with the well-known arrangement for the measured charge; early examples are given in the arsenal books of Maximilian I. They were first very small, but gradually increased in size as the century wore on, mostly circular in form, but later they are often three-cornered, and frequently made of horn, wholly or in part. Cartridges superseded their use about the middle of the seventeenth century, and the bayonet is first mentioned about the same time.

Arrows or quarrels were often used as projectiles for the musket, but this happened mostly at sea.

The harquebusier of the seventeenth century carried a weapon two and a half feet long.

The carbine or caraben is a gun with a wide bore, first used in Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

The decoration of many of the hand-guns of the sixteenth century was of a most artistic character, the barrels being often enriched with chasings, fine metal incrustations, or damascened, while the stocks were curiously and delicately carved and inlaid. It is generally assumed that the material usually used for inlaying is ivory, but it is really bleached stagshorn, and inlaying with tortoise-shell was also not uncommon.

A great amount of decorative skill was also expended on powder flasks.

There were several diminutives and combinations of the leading hand-guns referred to. Examples of early hand-guns are given in Fig. 51.

It is well to furbish up bygone things and ages, and to remember now and then what we owe to cumulative history. Master Wace, the chronicler of the Norman Conquest, says in his retrospections: “All things hasten to decay; all fall; all perish; all come to an end. Man dieth, iron consumeth, wood decayeth, towers crumble, strong walls fall down, the rose withereth away, the war-horse waxeth feeble, gay trappings grow old, all the works of men perish. Thus we are taught that all die, both clerk and lay; and short would be the fame of any after death if their history did not endure by being written in the book of the clerk.”