Coulevrines moyennes French work Francis I 1520 82mm 77mm 295cm 617kg iron ball 1500g alt

The ''Calibres de France'' ("French calibers") was a system of standardization of cannons in France, established by King

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin on ...

from about 1525.''La Grande Maîtresse, nef de François Ier: recherches et documents d'archives'' by Max Guérout p.231
/ref> The objective was to simplify and codify cannonry, in order to facilitate production. On 26 September 1526, Francis I wrote about the ''artillerye de mon calibre'' ("Artillery of my caliber"), and an even earlier mention is known from 1512. The ''Calibres de France'' were formalized in an ordinance of 1552.''L'histoire mémorable du siège et de la famine de Sancerre (1573)'' by Jean de Léry, Géralde Nakam p.70
/ref> Six standard sizes were defined: the

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

(''Canon''), the "grand"

culverin A culverin was initially an ancestor of the hand-held arquebus, but later was used to describe a type of medieval and Renaissance cannon. The term is derived from the French "''couleuvrine''" (from ''couleuvre'' "grass snake", following the ...

(''Grande couleuvrine''), the "bastard" culverin (''Couleuvrine bâtarde''), the "middle" culverin (''Couleuvrine moyenne''), the Falconet (''Faucon''), and the (''

Fauconneau A Fauconneau was a small type of cannon used during the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance. A typical ''fauconneau'' weighed about 25 kg and had a length of about 1 meter. It was a semi-portable weapon. It was mainly an anti-personnel weapon ...

''). The system was expanded by an ordinance dated 27 November 1572, and an edict dates December 1601. The 6-guns ''Calibres de France'' system was still in place at the time of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...

, which was later developed to an 18-guns system.''Dictionnaire Des Institutions De La France Aux Dix-Septieme Et Dix-Huitieme Siècles'' by Marcel Marion p.26
/ref> The system was phased out with the Keller system in 1666, and the De Vallière system on 7 October 1732.

Other models

File:Grand culverin of Francis I 140mm 307cm Algiers recovered in 1830.jpg, "Grande couleuvrine" of

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

, caliber: 140mm, length: 307 cm, recovered in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

in 1830. File:Grand culverin of Francis I with Salamander emblem and inscription in Arabic Rhodes.jpg, "Grande couleuvrine" of Francis I with Salamander emblem and inscription in Arabic,

Siege of Rhodes (1522) The siege of Rhodes of 1522 was the second and ultimately successful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to expel the Knights of Rhodes from their island stronghold and thereby secure Ottoman control of the Eastern Mediterranean. The first siege i ...

. File:French bastard culverin 1548 with arms of Henri II and Catherine de Medicis and crescent of Diane 85mm 300cm 1076kg.jpg, "Couleuvrine bâtarde" of 1548, with arms of Henri II and

Catherine de Medicis Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King H ...

and crescent of Diane. Caliber: 85mm, length: 300 cm, weight: 1076 kg. File:Bronze culverin of Francis I.jpg, Bronze culverin of

. File:Grand culverin of the Hospitallers 1500 1510 French work 165mm 540cm 3343kg iron ball 15kg Emery Amboise Abdul Aziz to NIII 1862 alt.jpg, Grand culverin of the

Knights Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

, 1500-1510,

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

. French work, caliber: 165 mm, length: 540 cm, weight: 3,343 kg, ammunition: 15 kg iron ball. Arms of Grand Master

Emery d'Amboise Emery d'Amboise (1434 – 13 November 1512) was Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1503 to 1512. He was the 41st Grand Master. He succeeded to Pierre d'Aubusson Pierre d'Aubusson (1423 – 3 July 1503) was a Grand Master of the Order ...

. Given by

Abdülaziz Abdulaziz ( ota, عبد العزيز, ʿAbdü'l-ʿAzîz; tr, Abdülaziz; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a ...

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

in 1862.

Notes

{{Artillery of France Artillery of France