Early Matchlock Arquebuses and 'Chain' Balls at the Battle near Orsza, Poland, 1514

[Matchlock]

Of course the main title, too, should read tinderlock instead of matchlock but it seems too late to edit that.



The Battle near Orsza was fought on 8 September 1514, between the allied forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski, and the army of Grand Duchy of Moscow under Konyushy Ivan Chelyadnin and Kniaz Mikhail Golitsin. The Battle near Orsha was part of a long series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars conducted by Russian rulers striving to gather all the lands of former Kievan Rus' under their rule.

The widely unknown painting reveals a lot of highly remarkable details.

The pieces of Bronze cannon rather seem like large wall guns (Bronze-Hakenbüchsen), a type of mid to semi-large cannon also depicted in Albrecht Dürer's Große Kanone, 1518.

What is most interesting though is the small group of arquebusiers loading and firing their arquebuses. We can identify a tinderlock serpentine, a girdle leather bag at a gunner's side containing the loading and cleaning utensils (just as shown in a very well known illustration from the 'Maximilian Armories', by Jörg Kölderer, ca. 1497-1502), and - balls on a chain like rosary beads slung around the back of the arquebusier at the right trying to ram home the load down the barrel of his gun with the ramrod. How these balls were exactly fixed on this sort of row we cannot make out; maybe they were just drilled with a hole thru the center.
As no matchcord can be seen we must assume that the arquebuiers used small pieces of glowing tinder, which of course had to be lit immediately before, in the serpentines of their guns.

The arquebuses are half-stocked, interestingly featuring with an additional suporting wall hook on the underside right before the short, thick muzzle section.


The attachments, in order of appearance:

- the Battle near Orsza; while the battle took place in 1514 please note that the painting was executed in around 1524-30

- detail: pieces of bronze cannon

- Albrecht Dürer: Die große Kanone (the large piece of ordnance), etching of 1518

- description to Dürer's etching; the author correctly notes that although called 'large', the bronze barrel of only about two to two-and-a-half meters of length is a semi-large piece at best, with the carriage showing an obsolete style of ca. 1470-80, and the accompanying men being clad in an Oriental manner. Heinrich Müller ("Kanonenmüller") just called the piece "ein untaugliches Fedgeschütz" (inept for field use)

- detail of Dürer's piece of inept field cannon/ordnance

- early-16th. c. pieces of cannon apt for field use, print by Christian Egenolf, Strasbourg, ca. 1530

- details from The Battle near Orsza:

1. group of four arquebusiers firing and loading their tinderlock arquebuses; we can make out the sepentines, the half-stocked guns with their wrought-iron barrels, the short supporting hooks on the underside and the short, stout mouzzle sections - all details denoting that we are dealing with guns of ca. 1510-15, so the painter though active some 10-15 years later, knew perfectly well what to portray to be stylistically correct for 1514!

2. arquebusier's girdle side bag holding the ammunition, mainly the powder and some cloth to wipe off the gun or, wadded, act as a wad to keep the usual sub-caliber (!) balls from rolling out of the barrel, and the cleaning tools

3. girdle leather side bags for powder for arquebusiers, by Jörg Kölderer, ca. 1497-1502, from the 'Maximilian Armories' books

4. arquebusier on the right, trying to put the ramrod into the barrel of his arquebus to ram the load home; slung around his back please note a spectacular chain of balls!

[Matchlock]

So finally here are the attachments.

We can also identify a small round priming flask in the girdle at the back of the arquebusier illustrated on the right, the one with the 'chain' balls (two images at the bottom).


Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

As the tinderlocks are not clearly shown in the painting of the Battle near Orsza, I posted some good illustrations here:


- by Diebold Schilling, from his Berne Chronicle, 1483: not very exact, either, as the top of the serpentine holding the piece of tinder is not shown at all

- by Jörg Kölderer, from his illustrated Maximilian Armories Inventories, ca. 1502-07: very exact details!



For tinder- and early-15th to 16th c. matchlocks, please also see my threads

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock




Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

And a detail with a piece of old tinder in the serpentine, of the oldest known complete long gun in existence, ca. 1400-10 (!!!), in my collection.

The watercolor is dated 1411, from the famous Cod.Vind.3069 (Vienna Library).



Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

For keeping ammunition before flasks came widely in use, please see my thread


http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...t=powder+flask


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