The Bâton à feu, or Baston à feu (French for "Fire stick"), is a type of
hand cannon developed in the 14th century in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
. This weapon type corresponds to the portable artillery of the second half of 14th century.
[Notice at Musée de l'Armée, ]Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
The ''Bâton à feu'' at the
Musée de l'Armée in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
has an hexagonal cross-section, and looks like a steel tube. It weighs 1.04 kg, and has a length of 18 cm. Its caliber is 2 cm.
In order to facilitate handling, the metal piece was placed at the end of a wooden pole. The powder was ignited through a small hole at the top, with a red-hot steel stick.
See also
*
Hand cannon
Notes
Artillery of France
Medieval artillery
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