Fig. 65.—Earliest Models of Cannon. In the Tower of London.
Valturio, an Italian writer, whose treatise on military art was first printed in 1472, has described and drawn all the engines of war then in use. Cannons are not forgotten. We observe that the greater number of these pieces have no longer any box forming a movable chamber; this implies an important advance in the art of making them; but, on the other hand, these cannons, bound with cords to a block of wood, or resting on platforms, must have been very difficult to move.
At this period pieces of the largest calibre, which projected enormous balls of stone, were more commonly called bombards; mortars, the very short cannons throwing heated projectiles; cannons, pieces of medium calibre carrying iron projectiles ([Fig. 65]); culverins, the long pieces loaded with leaden balls, which, as well as the powder, were rammed in with an iron rod; hand-cannons, or bâtons à feu ([Fig. 66]), were in a manner portable, for if they were handled by one man, it was never without his having recourse to another for firing them.
This last-named term, bâtons à feu, like that of cannon, existed before the invention of gunpowder. As swords and lances had often been designated under the generic name of bâtons, it followed that the name which implied arms in general should also be applied to the earliest portable firearms. In ancient royal ordinances we even see the term gros bâtons used to designate large pieces of artillery.
Fig. 66.—Hand Cannon (or Bâton à feu), taken from a piece of Tapestry belonging to the Church of Notre Dame de Nantilly, Saumur.
According to M. de Saulcy, the most important improvement ever made in artillery is certainly that which consisted in placing a gun with trunnions on a carriage à flasques—upright beams of wood, between which the gun can oscillate, and united by cross-pieces; this carriage was mounted on wheels, and admitted of the gun being inclined by the simple use of a wedge of wood placed under the breech. But, strangely enough, it is most difficult to state precisely the date of this improvement. Nevertheless, circumstances tend to the belief that it was between 1476 and 1494—that is, during the reigns of Louis XI. and of Charles VIII.—that they succeeded in making pieces of all calibres carrying iron shot, and also in solidly fixing the trunnions, which not only supported the weight, but also resisted the recoil of the cannon. The carriages for these guns were mounted on wheels. From this period the art of fortifying towns underwent a complete revolution, which suddenly changed the whole system.
When, in 1494, Charles VIII. entered Italy to conquer the kingdom of Naples, the French artillery produced universal admiration. The Italians had only iron guns, drawn by bullocks in rear of the army, and more for appearance than for use. After the first discharge it was some hours before the gun was ready for a second. The French had lighter cannon of bronze, drawn by horses, and moved with so much order that their transport hardly delayed the march of the army; they planted their batteries with incredible promptitude, considering the period, and the rounds were as quickly delivered as they were well aimed. Cotemporaneous Italian writers say that the French used almost exclusively iron shot, and that the guns, both of large and small calibre, were admirably balanced on their carriages.
Yet no single specimen, or even a drawing, of this remarkable artillery has been handed down to us. The Museum of Artillery does, indeed, possess one small piece, on which, between the trunnions and the breech, is this inscription:—“Presented by Charles VIII. to Bartemi, Lord of Pins, captain of the bands of artillery, in 1490.” This cannon presents nothing remarkable in its construction, for we already recognise the form, one that has scarcely varied since then, and which, it seems, was definitely adopted under Louis XII. and Francis I. Of this period we still have two magnificent bronze cannons. They were found at Algiers in 1830; the porcupine, the salamander, and the fleur-de-lys that ornament them, made their origin known.