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 _aspide_ 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