View source for Culverin

{{Short description|Early gun; small arm and then a cannon}}

[[Image:Coulevriniers.jpg|thumb|15th century culveriners]]

A '''culverin''' was initially an ancestor of the hand-held [[arquebus]], but the term was later used to describe a type of [[Middle Ages|medieval]] and [[Renaissance]] [[cannon]]. The word is derived from the antiquated "culuering" and the [[French language|French]] {{lang|fr|couleuvrine}} (from {{lang|fr|couleuvre}} "[[grass snake]]", following {{langx|la|colubrinus|lit=of the nature of a snake}}).<ref name="OED">{{OED|culverin}}</ref>  From its origin as a hand-held weapon it was adapted for use as [[artillery]] by the French in the [[15th century]] and for [[naval artillery|naval]] use by the English in the [[16th century]]. The culverin as an artillery piece had a long [[smoothbore|smoothbore gun barrel]] with a relatively long range and flat [[trajectory]], using solid [[round shot]] projectiles with high [[muzzle velocity]].

== Hand culverins ==

The hand culverin consisted of a simple smoothbore metal tube, closed at one end except for a small [[touch hole]] designed to allow ignition of the [[gunpowder]]. The tube was attached to a wood or metal extension which could be held under the arm. It was loaded with gunpowder and lead bullets and fired by inserting a burning [[slow match]] into the touch hole.

[[James IV of Scotland]] was an enthusiastic user of hand culverins in 1508. He held shooting matches in the great halls of [[Holyrood Palace]] and [[Stirling Castle]], took a culverin to stalk deer in the park of [[Falkland Palace]], and shot at sea birds from a row boat off the [[Isle of May]] with his culverin.<ref>[[James Balfour Paul]], ''Accounts of the Treasurer'', vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), pp. lxvii–lxxi, 115, 130.</ref>

In addition to the arquebus, the culverin also evolved into the heavier [[Breechloader|breech-loading]] [[Breech-loading swivel gun|swivel gun]] weighing around {{convert|40|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, which required a [[swivel]] for support and aiming. This weapon was designed to use removable [[mug]]-shaped [[Chamber (firearms)|chambers]] which were prefilled with gunpowder and projectiles to speed up reloading. Breech-loading swivel guns were often used on ships against enemy crew or [[Naval boarding|boarders]].

<gallery widths="250" heights="140">
File:HandBombardWesternEurope1390-1400.jpg|"Hand [[Bombard (weapon)|bombard]]", or early culverin, 1390–1400
File:HandCulverinWithSmallCannonsEurope15thCentury.jpg|Hand culverin (middle) with two small cannons, Europe, 16th century
File:EarlyCoulevrines.jpg|Early culverins (15th century): a hand culverin (top), and a culverin with removable chamber (bottom)
File:40KgWroughtIronMurderer1410France.jpg|"Murderer", France, 1410
File:Culverin with side flash-pans.jpg|Culverin with side flash-pans
File:Early culverin and hand culverin with bent stock.jpg|Above: Early culverin, below: Hand culverin with bent stock
</gallery>

==Field culverins==

[[Image:Bronze Demi Cannon Culverins Pmoth.png|right|thumb|upright|Bronze culverins and [[demi-cannon]], on display at the [[Mary Rose Museum]], Portsmouth]]

Three types of culverin artillery pieces were used, distinguished by their size: the "culverin extraordinary", the "ordinary", and the "least-sized".<ref name="cycl">{{1728|title=Culverin|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistSciTech/HistSciTech-idx?type=turn&id=HistSciTech.Cyclopaedia01&entity=HistSciTech.Cyclopaedia01.p0512}}</ref><ref>{{1728|title=Cyclopædia: or, A Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences|url=https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A4C5AV6Q7LZ5DY8E/full/ATKT2NKQIGUMSC8T}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Bore diameter !! Length !! Weight !! Shot diameter !! Shot weight
|-
| [[demi-cannon|Culverin extraordinary]] || {{convert|5+1/2|in|mm|abbr=on}}|| 32 calibers ({{convert|14|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}) || {{convert|4800|lb|kg|abbr=on}}|| {{convert|5+1/4|in|mm|abbr=on}} || {{convert|20|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
|-
| Ordinary culverin || {{convert|5+1/2|in|mm|abbr=on}}|| 25 calibers ({{convert|12|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}) || {{convert|4500|lb|kg|abbr=on}}|| {{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}} || {{convert|17|lb|5|oz|kg|abbr=on}}
|-
| Culverin of the least size || {{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}}|| 29 calibers ({{convert|12|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}) || {{convert|4000|lb|kg|abbr=on}}|| {{convert|3+3/4|in|mm|abbr=on}} || {{convert|14|lb|9|oz|kg|abbr=on}}
|}

There were also smaller versions, including the "bastard culverin" ({{convert|4|in|mm|disp=semicolon}}), {{convert|7|lb|kg|adj=on}} shot and the "[[demi-culverin]]" or "culverin-moyen" ({{convert|4+1/2|in|mm|disp=semicolon}}), {{convert|10|lb|kg|adj=on}} shot.<ref name="OED"/>

Overall, the culverin was a significant advance over earlier cannons. Since it fired iron round shot instead of stone projectiles and had a longer barrel to enable the gunpowder to fully burn and impart more force to the projectile, the culverin could fire the denser projectile to a relatively greater range and with a flatter [[trajectory]]. A replica ''culverin extraordinary'' has achieved a muzzle velocity of {{convert|408|m/s|abbr=on}}, and a range over {{convert|450|m|abbr=on}} using only minimal elevation.<ref>Discovery Channel, ''[[Battlefield Detectives]]'', episode "Who Sank the Armada"</ref> This velocity and mass imply that the cannonball had a [[kinetic energy]] of roughly {{convert|600|kJ|ft.lbf|lk=on}}  when leaving the muzzle.

In [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]], [[Michael Richards (engineer)|Brigadier General Michael Richards]] was appointed [[Master-General of the Ordnance]] in 1714 and he commissioned a Danish expert, [[Albert Borgard]], to design a new artillery system. Borgard did away with the traditional nomenclature of culverins, [[Saker (cannon)|saker]]s and [[Minion (cannon)|minion]]s, and devised a new system based on the weight of shot that each gun used, from 4 to 64 [[Pound (mass)|pounds]]. Although Borgard's gun designs were quickly superseded, the practice of [[Glossary of British ordnance terms#Pounder|naming ordnance by weight of shot]] persisted in Britain into the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.arc.id.au/Cannon.html |title=British Cannon Design 1600 - 1800 |last=Collins |first=A. R. |date= |website=www.arc.id.au |publisher= |access-date=7 December 2021 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Arquebus]]
*[[Demi-culverin]]
*[[Doglock]]
*[[Flintlock]]
*[[Hand cannon]]
*[[Matchlock]]
*[[Miquelet lock]]
*[[Musket]]
*[[Pistol]]
*[[Snaphance]]
*[[Snaplock]]
*[[Wheellock]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Culverins}}
* [https://www.britannica.com/technology/culverin "Culverin (cannon)"] at the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''
* [http://nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/angra12-gun.htm Specifications and pictures of a French culverin found in the Azores]

{{Early firearms}}
{{Artillery of the Middle Ages}}

[[Category:Cannon]]
[[Category:European weapons]]
[[Category:Medieval artillery]]
[[Category:Muskets]]
[[Category:Renaissance-era weapons]]