Culverin

The word is derived from the antiquated "culuering" and the French couleuvrine (from couleuvre "grass snake", following Latin: colubrinus, lit.

The hand culverin consisted of a simple smoothbore metal tube, closed at one end except for a small touch hole designed to allow ignition of the gunpowder.

In Britain, Brigadier General Michael Richards was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance in 1714 and he commissioned a Danish expert, Albert Borgard, to design a new artillery system.

Borgard did away with the traditional nomenclature of culverins, sakers and minions, and devised a new system based on the weight of shot that each gun used, from 4 to 64 pounds.

Although Borgard's gun designs were quickly superseded, the practice of naming ordnance by weight of shot persisted in Britain into the 20th century.

15th century culveriners
Bronze culverins and demi-cannon , on display at the Mary Rose Museum , Portsmouth