Seven Palm Musket

Queequeg · 6th December 2009, 09:56 PM

I'm rereading The Religion, by Tim Willocks, about a German adventurer named Matthias Tannhauser at the Siege of Malta.

Twice the author mentions Turkish muskets:

p.221

Quote:

In skirting the splayed and tangled slain who'd made their final stand by the tent, Tannhauser spotted a nine-palm musket on the ground. Its match still smouldered. It's stock was pinned beneath its owner's corpse. The blue-black hue of the damascened barrel, which seemed to glow from deep within its substance, and the arabesques of silver wire with which the ebony woodwork was inlaid, announced the hand of a master gunsmith.

p.298

Quote:

Tannhauser had elected to avoid the rigors of the line by employing his marksmanship. Along with his wheel-lock rifle, he picked up a Turkish seven-palm musket from the stockpile of captured weapons...

Is a "palm" some kind measure of barrel length, with one "palm" being a semi-standard (4 to 5 inches) unit of measurement like the cubit (one forearm)? Or does it have some other meaning?

Google produces fairly little results.

Thanks in advance.

fernando · 6th December 2009, 11:03 PM

The palm is of Roman origin, and comprehends the (width) length of a stretched hand; it was used to express the length of many a things.
Swords were also measured in palms. The laws published by the Kings to controll their length were in palms.
It also had a few variations, used in ship construction, loads, etc.
It measures about 22 cms (some 8,6"). It is still in use over here, specially in rural terms ... but not only.
Fernando

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Rick · 7th December 2009, 12:35 AM

Fernando, I'm confused .

Is a Palm the distance across the hand from thumb base to heel of hand ; or lengthwise, base of palm to longest fingertip ?

fernando · 7th December 2009, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

Fernando, I'm confused .

Is a Palm the distance across the hand from thumb base to heel of hand ; or lengthwise, base of palm to longest fingertip ?

Across the hand, fully stretched, from thumb tip to small finger tip. If you have a 'standard' hand, measure it this way and you will have an approximate result.
I used to play buttons when i was a kid, and we still used Palms. You toss your button against the wall and if it falls within a palm from your foe's button, you score. I was not such a winner, as i had a small hand

.

Fernando

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fernando · 7th December 2009, 01:04 AM

Like so

.

Rick · 7th December 2009, 03:16 PM

Ahhh, thank you Fernando !

We used to play that game with pennies .

6th December 2009, 11:03 PM	#2
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	The palm is of Roman origin, and comprehends the (width) length of a stretched hand; it was used to express the length of many a things. Swords were also measured in palms. The laws published by the Kings to controll their length were in palms. It also had a few variations, used in ship construction, loads, etc. It measures about 22 cms (some 8,6"). It is still in use over here, specially in rural terms ... but not only. Fernando . Last edited by fernando; 6th December 2009 at 11:18 PM.

7th December 2009, 01:04 AM	#5
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Like so . Attached Images

7th December 2009, 12:35 AM	#3
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,293	Fernando, I'm confused . Is a Palm the distance across the hand from thumb base to heel of hand ; or lengthwise, base of palm to longest fingertip ?

7th December 2009, 03:16 PM	#6
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,293	Ahhh, thank you Fernando ! We used to play that game with pennies .