What is a "serpentine" ?

Does anyone know what a "serpentine" is? In "Stoke Field" Baldwin
mentions that Oxford probably had some serpentines that would have been
effective against the advancing rebels starting at around 400 yards.
Could they possibly have been some sort of cannon?

Joan
http://joanszechtman.com/

Hello Joan,
A serpentine is canon which has a very long barrel. Hence the name. Like
a serpent, long and thin.
I think the idea was to restrict the danger for the men firing them, as
artillery in the later Middle Ages were notoriously unreliable. Further
away from the firer the shot came out of, the safer for the operator.
Paul

On 07/06/2013 07:14, joanszechtman wrote:
> Does anyone know what a "serpentine" is? In "Stoke Field" Baldwin
> mentions that Oxford probably had some serpentines that would have been
> effective against the advancing rebels starting at around 400 yards.
> Could they possibly have been some sort of cannon?
>
> Joan
> http://joanszechtman.com/
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


--
Richard Liveth Yet!

I have read that it was a hand cannon. The serpentine bit is the curved piece which is the matchlock - there are a good few illustrations here, including illustrations of medieval German soldiers using them -
http://www.bible-history.com/ibh/Weapons+and+Warfare/Hand+Fire-Arms/

--- In , "joanszechtman" <u2nohoo@...> wrote:
>
> Does anyone know what a "serpentine" is? In "Stoke Field" Baldwin
> mentions that Oxford probably had some serpentines that would have been
> effective against the advancing rebels starting at around 400 yards.
> Could they possibly have been some sort of cannon?
>
> Joan
> http://joanszechtman.com/
>

Wow, a hand cannon that could fire 400 yards? If I'm correctly understanding what is meant by a hand cannon, I can't help but wonder about the recoil. And the hazard. Strooth.

From: colyngbourne
Sent: Friday, June 07, 2013 11:23 AM
To:
Subject: Re: What is a "serpentine" ?

I have read that it was a hand cannon. The serpentine bit is the curved piece which is the matchlock - there are a good few illustrations here, including illustrations of medieval German soldiers using them -
http://www.bible-history.com/ibh/Weapons+and+Warfare/Hand+Fire-Arms/

--- In mailto:%40yahoogroups.com, "joanszechtman" <u2nohoo@...> wrote:
>
> Does anyone know what a "serpentine" is? In "Stoke Field" Baldwin
> mentions that Oxford probably had some serpentines that would have been
> effective against the advancing rebels starting at around 400 yards.
> Could they possibly have been some sort of cannon?
>
> Joan

Yes this was French usage of the term, part of the lock of an early
arquebus. The weapon itself known as the serpentine was a cannon,
weighing about 400 pounds, not the sort of thing you could wave about!
Paul


1.



2.





On 07/06/2013 11:23, colyngbourne wrote:
> I have read that it was a hand cannon. The serpentine bit is the curved piece which is the matchlock - there are a good few illustrations here, including illustrations of medieval German soldiers using them -
> http://www.bible-history.com/ibh/Weapons+and+Warfare/Hand+Fire-Arms/
>
> --- In , "joanszechtman" <u2nohoo@...> wrote:
>> Does anyone know what a "serpentine" is? In "Stoke Field" Baldwin
>> mentions that Oxford probably had some serpentines that would have been
>> effective against the advancing rebels starting at around 400 yards.
>> Could they possibly have been some sort of cannon?
>>
>> Joan
>> http://joanszechtman.com/
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


--
Richard Liveth Yet!

Thanks for the explanation, both of what a serpentine is as a weapon and
as part of a weapon. Being unfamiliar with serpentine as a
weapon--although I was aware that hand guns would also be referred to as
serpents--I tried to look up serpentine and could only find the
matchlock piece as related to arms. But as Baldwin went on to describe
that the practical range for an aquebus was 25 to 50 yds, I knew that
serpentine had to be something else.

Joan
http://joanszechtman.com/

--- In , Paul Trevor Bale wrote:
>
> Yes this was French usage of the term, part of the lock of an early
> arquebus. The weapon itself known as the serpentine was a cannon,
> weighing about 400 pounds, not the sort of thing you could wave about!
> Paul
>
>
> 1.
>
>
>
> 2.
>
>
>
>
>
> On 07/06/2013 11:23, colyngbourne wrote:
> > I have read that it was a hand cannon. The serpentine bit is the
curved piece which is the matchlock - there are a good few illustrations
here, including illustrations of medieval German soldiers using them -
> > http://www.bible-history.com/ibh/Weapons+and+Warfare/Hand+Fire-Arms/
> >
> > --- In , "joanszechtman"
u2nohoo@ wrote:
> >> Does anyone know what a "serpentine" is? In "Stoke Field" Baldwin
> >> mentions that Oxford probably had some serpentines that would have
been
> >> effective against the advancing rebels starting at around 400
yards.
> >> Could they possibly have been some sort of cannon?
> >>
> >> Joan
> >> http://joanszechtman.com/
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Richard Liveth Yet!
>
>
>
>

Thanks for that link, colyngbourne. I've bookmarked it--nice reference.

Joan
http://joanszechtman.com/

--- In , colyngbourne wrote:
>
> I have read that it was a hand cannon. The serpentine bit is the
curved piece which is the matchlock - there are a good few illustrations
here, including illustrations of medieval German soldiers using them -
> http://www.bible-history.com/ibh/Weapons+and+Warfare/Hand+Fire-Arms/
>
> --- In , "joanszechtman"
u2nohoo@ wrote:
> >
> > Does anyone know what a "serpentine" is? In "Stoke Field" Baldwin
> > mentions that Oxford probably had some serpentines that would have
been
> > effective against the advancing rebels starting at around 400 yards.
> > Could they possibly have been some sort of cannon?
> >
> > Joan
> > http://joanszechtman.com/
> >
>

"canon": If he missed, might he excommunicate you?
----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Trevor Bale
To:
Sent: Friday, June 07, 2013 9:44 AM
Subject: Re: What is a "serpentine" ?



Hello Joan,
A serpentine is canon which has a very long barrel. Hence the name. Like
a serpent, long and thin.
I think the idea was to restrict the danger for the men firing them, as
artillery in the later Middle Ages were notoriously unreliable. Further
away from the firer the shot came out of, the safer for the operator.
Paul

On 07/06/2013 07:14, joanszechtman wrote:
> Does anyone know what a "serpentine" is? In "Stoke Field" Baldwin
> mentions that Oxford probably had some serpentines that would have been
> effective against the advancing rebels starting at around 400 yards.
> Could they possibly have been some sort of cannon?
>
> Joan
> http://joanszechtman.com/
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

--
Richard Liveth Yet!

[:D] Being a very creative speller myself, I surprised myself that I
noticed this homophone. Love your interpretation, Stephen--kind of Monty
Pythonish.

Joan

--- In , "Stephen Lark" wrote:
>
> "canon": If he missed, might he excommunicate you?
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Paul Trevor Bale
> To:
> Sent: Friday, June 07, 2013 9:44 AM
> Subject: Re: What is a "serpentine" ?
>
>
>
> Hello Joan,
> A serpentine is canon which has a very long barrel. Hence the name.
Like
> a serpent, long and thin.
> I think the idea was to restrict the danger for the men firing them,
as
> artillery in the later Middle Ages were notoriously unreliable.
Further
> away from the firer the shot came out of, the safer for the
operator.
> Paul
>
> On 07/06/2013 07:14, joanszechtman wrote:
> > Does anyone know what a "serpentine" is? In "Stoke Field" Baldwin
> > mentions that Oxford probably had some serpentines that would have
been
> > effective against the advancing rebels starting at around 400
yards.
> > Could they possibly have been some sort of cannon?
> >
> > Joan
> > http://joanszechtman.com/
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> --
> Richard Liveth Yet!
>
>
>
>
>
>