The petronel was a 16th- and 17th-century black-powder

muzzle-loading A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading fire ...

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

, defined by Robert Barret (''Theorike and Practike of Modern Warres'', 1598) as a " horsemans peece". It was the muzzle-loading firearm which developed on the one hand into the

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

and on the other into the

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...

. The name ( French ''petrinel'' or ''poitrinal'') was given to the weapon either because it was fired with the butt resting against the chest (, ) or it was carried slung from a belt across the chest. Petronels may have either

matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or Tri ...

wheellock A wheellock, wheel-lock, or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock, and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name ...

mechanisms. The sclopus was the prototype of the petronel. The petronel is a compromise between the harquebus and the pistol. Early petronels date back to the end of the 14th century, with a crude

buttstock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attac ...

. Generally the

touch hole A touch hole, also known as a cannon vent, is a small hole at the rear (breech) portion of the barrel of a muzzleloading gun or cannon. The hole provides external access of an ignition spark into the breech chamber of the barrel (where the com ...

is on the right side, and fired by a separate

slow match Slow match, also called match cord, is the slow-burning cord or twine fuse used by early gunpowder musketeers, artillerymen, and soldiers to ignite matchlock muskets, cannons, shells, and petards. Slow matches were most suitable for use ar ...

. Sometimes petronels had small hinged plate-covers to protect the

priming Priming may refer to: * Priming (agriculture), a form of seed planting preparation, in which seeds are soaked before planting * Priming (immunology), a process occurring when a specific antigen is presented to naive lymphocytes causing them to d ...

from moisture.Demmin (1894). pp. 486. By extension, the term "petronel" came to characterise the type of

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and body armor, armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was p ...

which employed the firearm. The petronel (cavalryman) was used to support the

heavy cavalry Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the re ...

such as

demi-lancer The demi-lancer or demilancer was a type of heavy cavalryman in Western Europe during the 16th and early 17th centuries. Characteristics "Demi-lancer" was a term used in 16th-century military parlance, especially in England, to designate caval ...

s and

cuirassiers A cuirassier ( ; ; ) was a cavalryman equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers discarding their lances an ...

. The petronel was succeeded by a similarly armed cavalryman called the harquebusier.

Later developments

Although petronels had fallen out of use in Europe by 1700, similar guns were made in the Middle East until the late 19th century.

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

horsemen used a gun that was midway between an oversized pistol or a miniature carbine, with a curved

designed to keep the weapon close to the rider's chest.

Gallery

File:Hand cannon in wrought iron called a petronel.jpg, Petronel of the end of the 15th century. File:Hand cannon for a knight called a petronel.jpg, Early petronel, from a manuscript in the ancient library of Burgundy, by Glockenthon, of the arms of the Emperor Maximilian I (1505). File:Cavalier firing petronel.jpg, Cavalier Firing Petronel (After Marianus Jacobus). File:Afghan carbine.jpg, Short barreled Afghan jezail from the early to mid 1800s.

Notes

References

* *Demmin, Auguste (1894). An illustrated history of arms and armour: from the earliest period to the present time. New York: George Bell. ;Attribution Early firearms {{firearm-stub

Later developments

Gallery

See also

Notes

References