List of medieval and early modern gunpowder artillery

A wide variety of gunpowder artillery weapons were created in the medieval and early modern period.

List

Name	Image	Notes
Base		A long, narrow 15th–16th century cannon[1]
Bombard		First recorded use in 1326, made of brass.[2]
Culverin		A long-range cannon, first mentioned in 1410[3]
Curtall cannon		A type of cannon with a short barrel.[4]
Demi-culverin		A medium cannon, smaller than a culverin
Drake		A 3-pounder cannon; alternatively, an adjective to describe a lighter variant of another cannon.[5]
Falconet		A light cannon
Minion		A small cannon used in the 16th and 17th centuries
Portpiece		A large naval cannon
Saker		A medium cannon firing a 5 to 8 lb shot[3]
Serpentine [ru]		A cannon similar to a culverin[3]
Sling		A long, narrow 17th century cannon[1]

Citations

1. Needham, p.368
2. "Artillery in Medieval Europe". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
3. Kinard, p.53.
4. Pam Combes, "Wealden Iron" (PDF), Wealden Iron Research Group, p. 5, ISSN 0266-4402
5. Henry, p.10

General and cited references

• Henry, Chris (2005). English Civil War Artillery 1642-51. Oxford: Osprey.
• Kinard, Jeff. Artillery: An Illustrated History of Its Impact.
• Needham, Joseph. Science and Civilisation in China: Military Technology: The Gunpowder Epic.