English civil war lead powder cap

Marcus den toom · 14th March 2014, 08:50 PM

Most of us probably have seen the wooden powder flasks hanging from a belt (a bandolier). These powder flask contained an exact amount of black powder for one single shot.
I came across this item, a lead powder cap for such a wooden powder flask. It had originally 2 rings as did the powder flask a cord was knotted to these two parts so to prevent them from beeing seperated.

This example was found at a digging site at Newark, England. It dates most likely to the English civil war and is in quit a good condition, considering the structural integrity of lead.
Lead was, due to the Derbyshire lead mines, a common ore in England and was used for all sorts of things, like lead glazed windows, during and after the 17th century.
Maybe because of this excessive amount of lead, it was also used as a powder flask end cap, instead of the more common wooden plug?

Raf · 14th March 2014, 10:12 PM

I think I remember reading somewhere that wood caps were prone to jamming because of swelling in damp conditions , hence lead or pewter caps were a preferred alternative.

Marcus den toom · 14th March 2014, 10:21 PM

Hi Raf,

I think you have a good point right there, especially when you think about the weather conditions in England.
As far as i can grasp, the lead end caps are mostly found in England. Other countries more to the south are generally less damp thus a wooden plug might work better.

Matchlock · 15th March 2014, 12:14 PM

Hi Marcus and Raf,

Here is another British instance of a leaden cap for a powder measure from a bandelier, and one of the powder measures on one of my perfectly preserved bandeliers from the Emden armory is completely made of lead, not just the cap, and all covered with black leather; the other measures are all made of wood.

I guess I should also point out once more what I wrote on bandeliers in my thread, post #8:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...27s+bandoliers
The earliest powder measures for arquebusier's bandeliers in the 15th c., according to sources of period artwork like the Bavarian Landshuter Zeughausinventar (armory inventory) of 1485 where they are called 'hultzein ladung' (wooden load container), consisted of drilled wood shaped in a lathe. By the early-16th c., the measures for each load on arquebusier's bandeliers were mostly made of tinned iron, as the tapestries with scenes from the Battle of Pavia, 1525, depict.

Best,
Michael

Matchlock · 15th March 2014, 01:01 PM

Some close-ups of the - highly fragile! - tinned-iron powder measures on my early-16th c. bandelier, and some unique late-15th c. brass caps from such measures, figured, embossed and pierced with Late Gothic tracery and lettering in Gothic minuscules; the script on one samplle seems to read 'maria'. They are all from my collection!

For details on early-16th c. bandeliers, please see also

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=bandeliers

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=bandoliers

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=bandoliers

and

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=bandoliers

At bottom, two details from Melchior Feselen's painting The Battle of Alesia, dated 1533, depicting arquebusiers wearing bandeliers with small metal powder containers/measures.

m

Martin Moser · 15th March 2014, 01:38 PM

Truly amazing pictures, Michael! I love the details, which I have been able to get a view of so far. Some of these are in your collection you say? Wow!
Can you tell perhaps how the leather is attached to the apostles? Glued or sewn on or a combination of both?

14th March 2014, 08:50 PM	#1
Marcus den toom Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Netherlands Posts: 525	English civil war lead powder cap Most of us probably have seen the wooden powder flasks hanging from a belt (a bandolier). These powder flask contained an exact amount of black powder for one single shot. I came across this item, a lead powder cap for such a wooden powder flask. It had originally 2 rings as did the powder flask a cord was knotted to these two parts so to prevent them from beeing seperated. This example was found at a digging site at Newark, England. It dates most likely to the English civil war and is in quit a good condition, considering the structural integrity of lead. Lead was, due to the Derbyshire lead mines, a common ore in England and was used for all sorts of things, like lead glazed windows, during and after the 17th century. Maybe because of this excessive amount of lead, it was also used as a powder flask end cap, instead of the more common wooden plug?

15th March 2014, 12:14 PM	#4
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi Marcus and Raf, Here is another British instance of a leaden cap for a powder measure from a bandelier, and one of the powder measures on one of my perfectly preserved bandeliers from the Emden armory is completely made of lead, not just the cap, and all covered with black leather; the other measures are all made of wood. I guess I should also point out once more what I wrote on bandeliers in my thread, post #8: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...27s+bandoliers The earliest powder measures for arquebusier's bandeliers in the 15th c., according to sources of period artwork like the Bavarian Landshuter Zeughausinventar (armory inventory) of 1485 where they are called 'hultzein ladung' (wooden load container), consisted of drilled wood shaped in a lathe. By the early-16th c., the measures for each load on arquebusier's bandeliers were mostly made of tinned iron, as the tapestries with scenes from the Battle of Pavia, 1525, depict. Best, Michael Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 15th March 2014 at 02:00 PM.

15th March 2014, 01:01 PM	#5
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Some close-ups of the - highly fragile! - tinned-iron powder measures on my early-16th c. bandelier, and some unique late-15th c. brass caps from such measures, figured, embossed and pierced with Late Gothic tracery and lettering in Gothic minuscules; the script on one samplle seems to read 'maria'. They are all from my collection! For details on early-16th c. bandeliers, please see also http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=bandeliers http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=bandoliers http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=bandoliers and http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=bandoliers At bottom, two details from Melchior Feselen's painting The Battle of Alesia, dated 1533, depicting arquebusiers wearing bandeliers with small metal powder containers/measures. m Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 15th March 2014 at 02:45 PM.

14th March 2014, 10:12 PM	#2
Raf Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 252	I think I remember reading somewhere that wood caps were prone to jamming because of swelling in damp conditions , hence lead or pewter caps were a preferred alternative.

14th March 2014, 10:21 PM	#3
Marcus den toom Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Netherlands Posts: 525	Hi Raf, I think you have a good point right there, especially when you think about the weather conditions in England. As far as i can grasp, the lead end caps are mostly found in England. Other countries more to the south are generally less damp thus a wooden plug might work better.

15th March 2014, 01:38 PM	#6
Martin Moser Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Near Munich, Bavaria, Germany Posts: 12	Truly amazing pictures, Michael! I love the details, which I have been able to get a view of so far. Some of these are in your collection you say? Wow! Can you tell perhaps how the leather is attached to the apostles? Glued or sewn on or a combination of both?