Vast amount of early 16th.c lead shot found in Denmark

fernando · 28th April 2011, 02:26 PM

Hi Per,
When did Riddarholm ship sink?
Actually we can read that cannister shot was used during the thirty years war, when Swedish King Gustavus launched his tactical innovations in the battle of Breitenfeld 1631.

" ... Along the same line of rate of fire thinking, he also placed small cannons, or so called infantry guns among the units. These were mobile, lightweight three-pound brass cannon, by some called the first field artillery. Loaded with canister or grapeshot, they were devastating, like huge shotguns capable of gutting an opponent's formations ..."

This is an interesting reality as, if you browse the Net or consult 'common' artillery books on this type of shot, you will find that the current coment is that cannister (case) and grapeshot were widely used during the 18-19th centuries.

On the other hand, there is an early codex (14th century?) in the Paris National Library, with a drawing showing a mounted man (Eques sclopitaris)firing two projectiles in a simultaneous manner, from his handgun (sclopitus or scopitus). Somewhere in this forum there is a thread where this situation is quoted (Michl-Matchlock either the author or involved in it), with a picture most probably larger and better than this one shown here:

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28th April 2011, 02:26 PM	#5
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Hi Per, When did Riddarholm ship sink? Actually we can read that cannister shot was used during the thirty years war, when Swedish King Gustavus launched his tactical innovations in the battle of Breitenfeld 1631. " ... Along the same line of rate of fire thinking, he also placed small cannons, or so called infantry guns among the units. These were mobile, lightweight three-pound brass cannon, by some called the first field artillery. Loaded with canister or grapeshot, they were devastating, like huge shotguns capable of gutting an opponent's formations ..." This is an interesting reality as, if you browse the Net or consult 'common' artillery books on this type of shot, you will find that the current coment is that cannister (case) and grapeshot were widely used during the 18-19th centuries. On the other hand, there is an early codex (14th century?) in the Paris National Library, with a drawing showing a mounted man (Eques sclopitaris)firing two projectiles in a simultaneous manner, from his handgun (sclopitus or scopitus). Somewhere in this forum there is a thread where this situation is quoted (Michl-Matchlock either the author or involved in it), with a picture most probably larger and better than this one shown here: . Attached Images