The Oldest Hand-held Firearms from Slovakia
The Oldest Hand-held Firearms from Slovakia

Summary/Abstract: The medieval warfare was affected by the firearms that appeared in 14th century on battlefields. There are written and material sources for the research of firearms. From the area of Slovakia are proves of using firearms from the 15th century. Medieval localities were discovered after the WWII, where early firearms were found. Those localities were fortified structures, such as castles or military encampments. 2 firearms were found in a complete state, 1 bronze and one iron, one was almost half of a bronze barrel and the rest were bronze fragments. The complete firearms were identified as hackbut, that is a type of a handgun equipped a hook. The oldest type of hackbut has a pole stock construction and a touchhole on the top of the barrel. Some of those localities were connected with military operations of the Brotherhood and their fortified encampments. The Brotherhood was a multiethnic group of soldiers that was operating mainly in the area of present Slovakia between the years 1452-1467 in times of political chaos within Hungarian kingdom.

• Details
• Contents