Why French Cannon Was the Best of 1494

These were cannon we would recognize, mounted on carriages with large wheels and trails, drawn by horse, not slow oxen.  The gunpowder was improved, consisting of granules (corned) rather than a flour-like powder (which burned slower).  A cannon such as this could have one third the caliber of its chunkier predecessor, the bombard, but have the same range and punch.  What blasted out of the cannon's tapered barrel was a cast iron ball, not a lighter carved stone.

With trained gunners, "...they almost always marched right along with their armies and  were led right up against the walls of a town with such speed, the space between shots was so brief, and the balls flew so speedily, and were driven with such force, that as much execution was inflicted in a few hours as used to be done in Italy over the same number of days." - Francesco Guicciardini, Storia d'Italia, 1562.

French Artillery Did Not Spring Up Out of Nowhere
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