Matchlock age

[BillinOregon]

Rick, I surely do admire the lines of that Brescian gun.

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Very pleased Bill!

If you make it up for our shoot sometime, you can play with it.

 

[SgtWinterer]

hmm... the question of the matchlock age is closley tied to the european history of warfare.

The peak for the matchlock was the 30 year war and english civil war. But it is a longer story.

It starts somewhere around the early 1500s. This is the time of professional merceanaries which are sometimes referred to as "Landsknechts". By the early 1500s they where still based mainly on melee weapons and tactics, mainly massive pike formations.

During the century the firearms become gradually more common. Also most later firearms styles and their military use have their origin in this century. Like the heavyier muskeeters, light arquebusiers as a light infrantry or dragooners and gun armed cavallary.

All of these guns are one-offs and quite unique. This sometimes make it difficult to work or research the topic.

In the late 1500s guns become a lot more common and also some standard style seems to develop.


..will continue it.

 

[SgtWinterer]

Does anybody know why the pictures are not working?

 

[coloradoclyde]

Yes, The first picture you posted is encrypted. A scene from the movie "The profession of Arms" a 2001 film by the late director Ermanno Olmi.
You can view it here. https://www.google.dk/search?q=mes...KHc2mBRkQ_h0wF3oECAwQDQ#imgrc=dO_qhdoDM4h24M:

Here is a Youtube video clip of that movie.
https://youtu.be/7FoIhPCLxxE

Here is the second picture.

 

[Zonie]

Pictures on the forum are usually stored at a photo hosting site.

I use Flickr and use their "BBCode" to link the pictures.

The address starts with "https" followed by the site name and picture storage data and ends with the type of picture file it is such as "jpg".

 

[ChrisPer]

If you want some really good advice on development of matchlocks and such early types, the posts of the user 'Matchlock' (the late Michael Tromner) at Vikingsword.com appear to be the worlds greatest study of actual original arms and period documents, at least that I have seen. Blockmore's books are great but Matchlock goes overboard with images and discussion of individual pieces.
Just the understanding of period screws is awesome. For instance.

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Plus one for Chris' post above.
Michael knew more about matchlocks than the rest of us pout together I think!

Yes, even screw threads and wood screws are all detailed.
I believe he told me he took 28,000 photos at museums and such, (Wore out three analog cameras)and had more early arms than many museums.
So sad he passed away before his time.

 

[hyuzu]

As Richard mentions, the Matchlock continued to be in use much longer than imagined. They were still being used in Japan and the Indian Continent all the way up till the mid-19th Century.

In China too. Matchlock muskets were being used in the period of both Opium Wars, and photographic evidence exists of their continued use in the 1870s by imperial army soldiers.

 

[robinghewitt]

Found it. Howard Blackmore British Military Firearms 1650-1850 page 38, shows the Ordnance dumped their remaining stock of matchlocks and old snaphance muskets anywhere they could around 1703 and then had to find lots of flintlocks PDQ because of the moaning and complaining that ensued

 

[hyuzu]

Matchlocks were still used in Tibet in the 20th century.

Picture of Tibetans using matchlocks in 1905: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Tibetan_Soldier_at_Target_Practise.jpg

Picture of Tibetan soldiers ca. 1910 with matchlocks: https://i.pinimg.com/474x/1f/2a/dd/1f2add4f0ccde68d863c19d6825f95c1--interwar-period-lhasa.jpg

Picture of Tibetan hunter with matchlock, 1929: https://i.pinimg.com/474x/22/ea/dd/22eaddc23605c84105eded72d785b177--hunters-percussion.jpg

This article provides some basic info on the matchlocks used in Tibet up to the 20th century (under the heading "Firearms and Accessories"): https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tbar/hd_tbar.htm