Gunpowder artillery in the Middle Ages

Bronze cannon with an inscription dated the 3rd year of the Zhiyuan era (1332) of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368); it was discovered at the Yunju Temple of Fangshan District, Beijing, China in 1935.

The first documented battlefield use of gunpowder artillery took place on 28 January 1132, when Song General Han Shizhong used huochong to capture a city in Fujian. The world's earliest known hand cannon is the Heilongjiang hand cannon dated 1288, which was found in Mongol-held Manchuria.[4] In his 1341 poem, The Iron Cannon Affair, one of the first accounts of the use of gunpowder artillery in China, Xian Zhang wrote that a cannonball fired from an eruptor could "pierce the heart or belly when it strikes a man or horse, and can even transfix several persons at once."[5]

The Arabs acquired knowledge of gunpowder some time after 1240, but before 1280, by which time had written, in Arabic, recipes for gunpowder, instructions for the purification of saltpeter, and descriptions of gunpowder incendiaries.[6]

Ahmad Y. al-Hassan claims that the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 saw the Mamluks use against the Mongols in "the first cannon in history" gunpowder formulae which were almost identical with the ideal composition for explosive gunpowder, which he claims were not known in China or Europe until much later.[7][8] However, Iqtidar Alam Khan states that it was invading Mongols who introduced gunpowder to the Islamic world[9] and cites Mamluk antagonism towards early riflemen in their infantry as an example of how gunpowder weapons were not always met with open acceptance in the Middle East.[10]

Al-Hassan interprets Ibn Khaldun as reporting the use of cannon as siege machines by the Marinid sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf at the siege of Sijilmasa in 1274.[7] Super-sized bombards were used by the troops of Mehmed II to capture Constantinople, in 1453. Urban, a Hungarian cannon engineer, is credited with the introduction of this cannon from Central Europe to the Ottoman realm.[11] It could fire heavy stone balls a mile, and the sound of their blast could reportedly be heard from a distance of 10 miles (16 km).[11] A piece of slightly later date (see pic) was cast in bronze and made in two parts: the chase and the breech, which, together, weighed 18.4 tonnes.[12] The two parts were screwed together using levers to facilitate the work.

Africa

Adal pioneered the use of cannon in Africa during the Conquest of Abyssinia.[13]

In Africa, the Adal Empire and the Abyssinian Empire both deployed cannons during the Adal-Abyssinian War. Imported from Arabia, and the wider Islamic world, the Adalites led by Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi were the first African power to introduce cannon warfare to the African continent.[14] Later on as the Portuguese Empire entered the war it would supply and train the Abyssinians with cannons, while the Ottoman Empire sent soldiers and cannons to back Adal. The conflict proved, through their use on both sides, the value of firearms such as the matchlock musket, cannons, and the arquebus over traditional weapons.[15]

Roger Bacon described the first gunpowder in Europe.

"Vaso", the earliest illustration of a European cannon, from around 1327, by Walter de Milemete

In Europe, one of the earliest mentions of gunpowder appeared in Roger Bacon's Opus Majus in 1267. It describes a recipe for gunpowder and recognized its military use:

We can, with saltpeter and other substances, compose artificially a fire that can be launched over long distances ... By only using a very small quantity of this material much light can be created accompanied by a horrible fracas. It is possible with it to destroy a town or an army ... In order to produce this artificial lightning and thunder it is necessary to take saltpeter, sulfur, and Luru Vopo Vir Can Utriet.

— [16]

In 1250, the Norwegian Konungs skuggsjá mentioned, in its military chapter, the use of "coal and sulphur" as the best weapon for ship-to-ship combat.[17]

Britain and France

See also: English cannon and Pot-de-fer

A reconstruction of the pot-de-fer vase cannon that fired arrows.

Cannon seem to have been introduced to the Kingdom of England in the 14th century, and is mentioned as being in use against the Scots in 1327.[22] The first metal cannon was the pot-de-fer, first depicted in an illuminated manuscript by Walter de Milamete,[23] of 1327 that was presented to Edward III upon his accession to the English throne.[24] The manuscript shows a four-legged stand supporting a "bulbous bottle", while the gunner stands well back, firing the charge with a red-hot iron bar.[22] A bolt protrudes from the muzzle, but no wad is shown.[23] Although illustrated in the treatise, no explanation or description was given.[25]

This weapon, and others similar, were used by both the French and English during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), when cannon saw their first real use on the European battlefield.[26] The cannon of the 14th century were still limited in many respects, as a modern historian summarises:

Early cannon were inferior in every respect to the great siege-engines: they were slow and small, they were limited… [in the 14th century] to firing bolts or 'garrots' and they had a very limited range. The weaknesses were due to limited technology: inability to forge or cast in one piece or make iron balls. They were probably as dangerous to their users as to the enemy and affected the morale of men (and horses) rather than damaged persons or buildings.

— [27]

During the 1340s, cannon were still relatively rare, and were only used in small numbers by a few states.[28] "Ribaldis" were first mentioned in the English Privy Wardrobe accounts during preparations for the Battle of Crécy between 1345 and 1346.[28] These were believed to have shot large arrows and simple grapeshot, but they were so important they were directly controlled by the Royal Wardrobe.[28] According to the contemporary chronicler Jean Froissart, the English cannon made "two or three discharges on the Genoese", which is taken to mean individual shots by two or three guns because of the time taken to reload such primitive artillery.[29] The Florentine Giovanni Villani agreed that they were destructive on the field, though he also indicated that the guns continued to fire upon French cavalry later in the battle:

The English guns cast iron balls by means of fire… They made a noise like thunder and caused much loss in men and horses… The Genoese were continually hit by the archers and the gunners… [by the end of the battle] the whole plain was covered by men struck down by arrows and cannon balls.

— [29]

Depiction of artillery in an illustration of the Siege of Orleans of 1429 (Martial d'Auvergne, 1493)

Similar cannon to those used at Crécy appeared also at the Siege of Calais in the same year, and by the 1380s the "ribaudekin" clearly became mounted on wheels.[28] Wheeled gun carriages became more commonplace by the end of the 15th century, and were more often cast in bronze, rather than banding iron sections together.[30] There were still the logistical problems both of transporting and of operating the cannon, and as many three dozen horses and oxen may have been required to move some of the great guns of the period.[30]

Another small-bore cannon of the 14th century was the culverin, whose name derives from the snake-like handles attached to it.[31] It was transitional between the handgun and the full cannon, and was used as an anti-personnel weapon.[31] The culverin was forged of iron and fixed to a wooden stock, and usually placed on a rest for firing.[32]

15th century culveriners.

The culverin was also common in 15th century battles, particularly among Burgundian armies.[32] As the smallest of medieval gunpowder weapons, it was relatively light and portable.[32] It fired lead shot, which was inexpensive relative to other available materials.[32]

Considerable developments in the 15th century produced very effective "bombards"[33] — an early form of battering cannon used against walls and towers.[31][34] These were used both defensively and offensively. Bamburgh Castle, previously thought impregnable, was taken by bombards in 1464.[33] The keep in Wark, Northumberland was described in 1517 as having five storeys "in each of which there were five great murder-holes, shot with great vaults of stone, except one stage which is of timber, so that great bombards can be shot from each of them."[35] An example of a bombard was found in the moat of Bodiam Castle, and a replica is now kept inside.[34]

Hand culverin (middle) with two small cannon, Europe, 15th century.

Artillery crews were generally recruited from the city craftsmen.[36] The master gunner was usually the same person as the caster.[36] In larger contingents, the master gunners had responsibility for the heavier artillery pieces, and were accompanied by their journeymen as well as smiths, carpenters, rope makers and carters.[36] Smaller field pieces would be manned by trained volunteers.[36] At the Battle of Flodden, each cannon had its crew of gunner, matrosses and drivers, and a group of "pioneers" were assigned to level to path ahead.[30] Even with a level path, the gunpowder mixture used was unstable and could easily separate out into sulphur, saltpetre and charcoal during transport.[30]

Once on site, they would be fired at ground level behind a hinged timber shutter, to provide some protection to the artillery crew.[30] Timber wedges were used to control the barrel's elevation.[30] The majority of medieval cannon were breechloaders, although there was still no effort to standardise calibres.[30] The usual loading equipment consisted of a copper loading scoop, a ramrod, and a felt brush or "sponge".[36] A bucket of water was always kept beside the cannon.[36] Skins or cloths soaked in cold water could be used to cool down the barrel, while acids could also be added to the water to clean out the inside of the barrel.[36] Hot coals were used to heat the shot or keep the wire primer going.[36]

Some Scottish kings were very interested in the development of cannon, including James II, who was killed by the accidental explosion of one of his own cannon besieging Roxburgh Castle in 1460.[37] Mons Meg, which dates from about the same time, is perhaps the most famous example of a massive bombard. James IV was Scotland's first Renaissance figure, who also had a fascination with cannon, both at land and at sea.[37] By 1502, he was able to invest in a Scottish navy, which was to have a large number of cannon — his flagship, the Great Michael, was launched in 1511, with 36 great guns, 300 lesser pieces and 120 gunners.[37]

The rounded walls of the 14th century Sarzana Castle showed adaption to gunpowder.

Toward the end of the Middle Ages, the development of cannon made revolutionary changes to siege warfare throughout Europe, with many castles becoming susceptible to artillery fire. The primary aims in castle wall construction were height and thickness, but these became obsolete because they could be damaged by cannonballs.[42] Inevitably, many fortifications previously deemed impregnable proved inadequate in the face of gunpowder. The walls and towers of fortifications had to become lower and wider, and by the 1480s, "Italian tracing" had been developed, which used the corner bastion as the basis of fortifications for centuries to come.[42] The introduction of artillery to siege warfare in the Middle Ages made geometry the main element of European military architecture.[42]

In 16th century England, Henry VIII began building Device Forts between 1539 and 1540 as artillery fortresses to counter the threat of invasion from France and Spain. They were built by the state at strategic points for the first powerful cannon batteries, such as Deal Castle, which was perfectly symmetrical, with a low, circular keep at its centre. Over 200 cannon and gun ports were set within the walls, and the fort was essentially a firing platform, with a shape that allowed many lines of fire; its low curved bastions were designed to deflect cannonballs.[43]

To guard against artillery and gunfire, increasing use was made of earthen, brick and stone breastworks and redoubts, such as the geometric fortresses of the 17th century French Marquis de Vauban. Although the obsolescence of castles as fortifications was hastened by the developments of cannon from the 14th century on, many medieval castles still managed to "put up a prolonged resistance" against artillery during the English Civil War of 17th century.[44]

• Early thermal weapons

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• Mariana, Juan de. Historia general de Espana, 2 volumes, Madrid, 1608, ii, 27; English translation by Captain John Stephens, The General History of Spain, 2 parts, London, 1699, p 2 64
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• Sadler, John; Walsh, Stephen (2006-05-30). Flodden 1513: Scotland's Greatest Defeat. Osprey Publishing. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-84176-959-2.
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• Artillery in Medieval Europe - Ancient History Encyclopedia
• Video Demonstration of the Medieval Siege Society's Medieval style Guns, Including showing ignition of Gun Powder