Product details
- ISBN 9781849081559
- Weight: 300g
- Dimensions: 178 x 244mm
- Publication Date: 10 Oct 2010
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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In the early 14th century, a new weapon entered the arsenals of European armies.
This first generation of black powder weapons put fear into the heart of the enemy and in 1453 Ottoman cannon succeeded in pummelling the once-impregnable walls of Constantinople. But cannons, which are both slow and cumbersome, were difficult to use and often proved inaccurate.
The first handgonnes were the answer. Easily dismissed by later historians as nothing more than crude tubes that shot wildly inaccurate lead balls, more recent research has revealed the true accuracy of the medieval handgonne together with its penetrative power.
This volume, complete with detailed illustrations and colour photographs of reconstructed handgonnes, reveals the true history of what could easily have been the most revolutionary weapon in history: a must for medieval enthusiasts and re-enactors.
Sean McLachlan is a full-time writer and former archaeologist who has previously written American Civil War Guerrilla Tactics for Osprey Publishing. His interest in medieval handgonnes was first fuelled by a visit to the Medieval Centre in Denmark where groundbreaking research is currently being undertaken on the subject of medieval technologies.
Gerry Embleton has been a leading illustrator and researcher of historical costume since the 1970s, and has illustrated and written Osprey titles on a wide range of subjects for more than 20 years. This book was illustrated by Gerry and his son Sam Embleton.
