440 
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF 
tried for the first time by Dudley, in the reign of Charles I., and was not 
common for another century, 1 2 and the operation of puddling was not 
invented until 1781, by Mr. H. Cort. Chemistry, in the proper sense of 
the word, was unknown before the 17th century, 3 and the gunpowder of the 
14th, 15th, and 16th centuries was scarcely more powerful than squib 
composition at the present day. 3 The progress of artillery might keep pace 
with that of metallurgy and chemistry, but it could not outstrip them. 
Their bounds were its bounds; so far could it go, but no further. 
The amount of materiel necessary for the equipment of a given force of 
artillery is out of all proportion to the quantity required for a corresponding 
force of cavalry or infantry, and the disparity was as great in the 14th 
century as it is in the 19th. In the middle ages, when every peasant 
was master of a bow or sword, 4 and every gentleman possessed a horse 
and armour, it was easy to assemble at a moment's warning an army of 
knights and archers. 5 But artillery could form no part of these hasty levies* 
It is impossible to improvise this arm on a sudden emergency: the guns, 
the carriages, the ammunition, had, even in the rudest periods, to be con¬ 
structed and guarded with care in time of peace, to enable them to appear 
on the field in time of war. Trained gunners, too, were indispensable, and 
time and experience were needed to educate them. Horsemanship, the use 
of the sword, and archery, might be acquired by private individuals, but a 
knowledge of gunnery was restricted to the few who had access to guns 
which, owing to the cost of acquiring them, can only belong to governments. 
In a word, whatever force of artillery it was considered desirable to employ 
in time of war, it was necessary to maintain in time of peace, and this 
acted prejudicially to the progress of the arm. Bor in an age when political 
economy and the science of finance were unknown, few rulers possessed a 
treasury capable of meeting the demands requisite for the construction and 
maintenance of an efficient force of artillery; 6 and further, the spirit of 
these times, and the nature of feudal obligations, were opposed to the 
existence of standing armies. 7 
The use of mercenaries also exercised an unfavourable influence on the 
artillery. Beginning with the (C solidarii " of the 11th century, 8 and rapidly 
increasing during the next two hundred years, they were commonly employed 
in the 14th and 15th centuries. Bor these marauders, the live ass was 
better than the dead lion. A dead soldier, of whatever rank, was only 
worth his armour and sword, and what money might be found about him; 
1 Review of the History of Iron, in the “ Quarterly Review ” for July, 1862. 
2 It may be gathered from the Latin oration delivered at Cambridge by Isaac Barrow in 1654 
(Barrow’s Works, Vol. IX. pp. 35-47), that chemistry was at this time “just emerging from its 
mystic or thaumaturgic stage into the light of science.”—See the art. on Dr. Barrow in the 
“ Quarterly Review” for Oct. 1869, pp. 359-360. 
3 Mr. H. Latham, in “Journal of United Service Institution,” Yol. IX. No. 34. 
4 Buckle’s “Hist, of Civilisation,” Vol. I. p. 188. 
6 Eccleston’s “ English Antiquities,” p. 62. 
6 For an account of Edward III.’s financial difficulties during the Cresy campaign, see Longman’s 
“Life and Times of Edward III.” Vol. I. pp. 116-153. Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations,” 
Book IY. ch. 1, p. 195, M‘Culloch’s Ed. 
7 Hallam’s “Middle Ages,” Vol. I. p. 262. Buckle’s “Hist, of Civilisation,” Vol. I. p. 190. 
8 Hallam’s “Middle Ages,” Yol. I. p. 264, Buckle’s “ Hist, of Civilisation,” Yol. I. p. 191, 
