But generalizations on early cannon are difficult, for it is not easy to find two "mathematicians" of the old days whose ordnance lists agree. Spanish guns of the late 1500's do, however, appear to be larger in caliber than pieces of similar name in other countries, as is shown by comparing the culverins: the smallest Spanish _culebrina_ was a 20-pounder, but the French great _coulevrine_ of 1551 was a 15-pounder and the typical English culverin of that century was an 18-pounder. Furthermore, midway of the 1500's, Henry II greatly simplified French ordnance by holding his artillery down to the 33-pounder cannon, 15-pounder great culverin, 7-1/2-pounder bastard culverin, 2-pounder small culverin, a 1-pounder falcon, and a 1/2-pounder falconet. Therefore, any list like the one following must have its faults:
_Principal English guns of the sixteenth century_
Caliber Length Weight Weight Powder (inches) of gun of shot charge Ft. In. (pounds) (pounds) (pounds)
Rabinet 1.0 300 0.3 0.18 Serpentine 1.5 400 .5 .3 Falconet 2.0 3 9 500 1.0 .4 Falcon 2.5 6 0 680 2.0 1.2 Minion 3.5 6 6 1,050 5.2 3 Saker 3.65 6 11 1,400 6 4 Culverin bastard 4.56 8 6 3,000 11 5.7 Demiculverin 4.0 3,400 8 6 Basilisk 5.0 4,000 14 9 Culverin 5.2 10 11 4,840 18 12 Pedrero 6.0 3,800 26 14 Demicannon 6.4 11 0 4,000 32 18 Bastard cannon 7.0 4,500 42 20 Cannon serpentine 7.0 5,500 42 25 Cannon 8.0 6,000 60 27 Cannon royal 8.54 8 6 8,000 74 30
Like many gun names, the word "culverin" has a metaphorical meaning. It derives from the Latin _colubra_ (snake). Similarly, the light gun called _áspide_ or aspic, meaning "asp-like," was named after the venomous asp. But these digressions should not obscure the fact that both culverins and demiculverins were highly esteemed on account of their range and the effectiveness of fire. They were used for precision shooting such as building demolition, and an expert gunner could cut out a section of stone wall with these guns in short order.
As the fierce falcon hawk gave its name to the falcon and falconet, so the saker was named for the saker hawk; rabinet, meaning "rooster," was therefore a suitable name for the falcon's small-bore cousin. The 9-pounder saker served well in any military enterprise, and the _moyana_ (or the French _moyenne_, "middle-sized"), being a shorter gun of saker caliber, was a good naval piece. The most powerful of the smaller pieces, however, was the _pasavolante_, distinguishable by its great length. It was between 40 and 44 calibers long! In addition, it had thicker walls than any other small caliber gun, and the combination of length and weight permitted an unusually heavy charge--as much powder as the ball weighed. A 6-pound lead ball was what the typical _pasavolante_ fired; another gun of the same caliber firing an iron ball would be a 4-pounder. The point-blank range of this Spanish gun was a football field's length farther than either the falcon or demisaker.