Pre-1533 Nuremberg Snap-Tinderlock Arquebuses - the REAL TREASURES of the BOM JESUS !

[Matchlock]

Top 5 attachments:

A Nuremberg made snap-tinder/snap-matchlock arquebus of ca. 1530, the lock recess showing the contours of a triangular shaped lock plate which united all the mechanical parts of the action.

Together with a contemporary Italian snap-tinderlock arquebus preserved in

The Michael Trömner Collection,

this gun at the storage rooms of the Hessisches Landesmusum Darmstadt, inv.-no. W 61:100, is the oldest known gun to feature, for the first time, showing the presence of the 'modern' type of trigger replacing the lateral push-button that had been used to trigger the snapping serpentines from ca. 1490-1530.

Furthermore, these two contemporary arquebuses of ca. 1530 are equipped with a vertical type of trgigger guard, for protection of the first triggers mounted on the underside of the stock, beneath the lock mechanism. The Nuremberg made arquebus in Darmstadt features an especially delicate type of trigger.

Attachment no. 6 depicts an action of the very same type, on another Nuremberg imported arquebus in the Brukenthal-Museum Sibiu, ca. 1530-35.


The author's thesis is that the arquebuses on the Bom Jesus were not yet equipped with that kind of 'modern' triggers and trigger guards.


Best,
Michael

All photos copyrighted by the author, Michael Trömner.

[dana_w]

You have outdone yourself again Michael!

I only wish I could read German. None of the articles (and photos!) I have found on the Bom Jesus in English can match the one you've posted here.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Matchlock

... The gold was in the form of coins, more than 2,000 in total, mainly Spanish excelentes bearing the likenesses of the monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, but also some Venetian, Moorish, French and other coinage....

Other coinage is in fact Portuguese coins, as per the original texts, something which is more than obvious, once the ship was Portuguese. Actually the coin shown in the (Amy Toensing) picture above is a silver "tostão" of the King Dom João III realm.This is a very important detail, once the mintage of these coins had started in 1525, having all units been withdrawn from circulation in 1538, to be molten and not put back to use, for the presence of these coins in such good condition is a strong evidence that this ship was launched to sea during this 13 years interval.
Also the Spanish gold "excelentes", which represent 70% of the gold coins present in the wreck, are a vital detail for history, as it didn't occur to archeologists that the Spanish investors, as it appears, had a great contribution to this Portuguese expedition, such an unusual fact.

[Matchlock]

Thank you so much, Dana W and Nando!

I'm trying to make contacts with one of the authors, Dr. Wolfgang Knabe, in order to get more and better images!
After all, I can tell them a whole lot on these guns that they don't know, so it will be worth swapping facts, thoughts and theories - and I'm looking forward to an enthralling exchange of important pieces of our minds.

Best,
m

[dana_w]

Have you seen this article Michael?

http://geschimagazin.wordpress.com/2...ng-ein-unikat/

[Matchlock]

NO, Dana W -


I haven't!

Thanks a zillion!!!

Please do send a PM (private message); I'm looking forward to receiving it ...


With all my very best regards and wishes,
Michael

[fernando]

Some more pictures of the salvaged parts.
The artillery (the falconets and the famous berços), the elephant tusks and the copper ingots for trade, the ship's astrolabes, the inumerous coins and an early sylized illustration of the Bom Jesus.
Also a section of the main mast, where may be seen the masthead in which laid the topsail basket and the rigging fixation.

.

[Matchlock]

Hi there,


Attached please find some images of the powder horns and brass-cast ball molds found on the wreck of the Bom Jesus; sadly, I had to zoom them up from stamp-sized images printed in the book.

They are characteristic of the Italian taste of the 1520's to 1530's, readily copied by Nuremberg manufacturers by ca. 1525-30.
From ca. 1530, powder horns started getting replaced by trapezoid flasks.
Horns were re-enlivened from ca. 1580 through ca. 1650. They just got flattened, and a hook was added for attaching the flask to the leather frog of the caliverman they were reserved for.
The musketeer, in contrast, was equipped with two trapezoid powder flasks: a larger one for the barrel powder and a small priming flask. Alternatively, he carried just the bandelier, either together with a small trapezoid priming flask, or one of the tube-like powder containers on the bandelier was reserved for priming; in the latter case, its top had a nozzle.

The text of the book states that the horns were of unusually high quality, and therefore cannot not have been part of the equipment of the common mercenary/Landsknecht arquebusier.
Three contemporary sources of illustration of ca. 1525 -1533 re-attached prove the contrary.
It is commonly known that most mercenaries could afford to wear costumes reflecting the topic taste of style, and of high quality; the same is true for their 'high-tech' equipment.

For closest comparison to horns and earliest flasks, please refer to my threads:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...tle+pavia+1525
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ia+heller+1525
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ia+heller+1525
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ia+heller+1525


For more on earliest ball molds etc., please see my threads:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...t=bullet+molds
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ia+heller+1525


Best,
Michael Trömner