handgonne (handbüchse) from Sammlung Baumann aus Rothenburg ob der Tauber

[Marcus den toom]

Originally Posted by fernando

Well Marcus, some times these things are product of artists imagination, just like the ridiculous hook Michael pointed out in the thread you linked.
On the other hand, i can show you two other versions of the Schopettieri you have posted; one with the hook and the other without it, but all three with a different attire, so at the taste of the authors. In any case it seems that, if the hook was required in such case, it would be to prevent the recoil against that 'suspicious' holding device ... but maybe too thin to be true ?

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Hi Nando,

My remark was not perse related to the haquebut discussed here, but more towards your remark of there not beeing any horseman haquebuts.
The illustrations you posted seem of later date and are clearly all based on this attached illustration by Mariano di Iacopo (Mariano Taccola, also referred to during his life as the 'Archimedes of Siena') (1381-?1453). It is an illustration of a knight with what appears to be a Steinbuchse /haquebut.

The construction might look thin, but i doubt these haqeubuts to be all that big and the recoil must have been absorbed by the hook and gun rest and also by the person itself (see the attachement by means of a rope around the shoulders of the knight).
If this is a practical piece of gun, i doubt it and with the lack of fysical evidence (saddles with gunrest) i can't say if this is indeed just a fantasy or a real working life concept. Still the illustration is there and must have been considered as an option to fire from horseback.