THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
295 
Piet de Eur pour mi tuiau de tonnoire et pour cent garros vi livres xvi 
sous.” 1 
These tubes of thunder throwing arrows are doubtless nothing else than 
cannon, and from their price evidently very small; in fact, the “ pot de fer ” 
of Rouen is repeated over again in each of these examples; the 25 arrows 
for each of these cannon, and the price, are almost identical with what we 
have previously observed. 
But, in the following year, 1341, we read in the same accounts, “ A un 
mestre de tonnoire pour ledit tonnoire faire xi livres xn sous vm deniers : ” 
that is to say, as much money is here paid for one cannon as was paid at 
Cambray in 1338 for four: which would allow to this piece a weight of 
from 100 to 1201b., still however a very small gun, scarcely so large as a 
wall piece of the present day. 
In an account of the bailiffs of St Omer in 1342, we find the detail of the 
artillery of the castle of Rihoult in Artois. This is printed entire in the 
Emperor Napoleon^s work, vol. iii. p. 77. It was first published in the 
Memoires de la Societe des Antiquaires de la Morinie, and gives us more 
complete information of the cost of the material of ordnance at this early 
period than any other existing record. 
Erom it we learn that two brothers, Pierre and Jehan, of Hedin, “traieurs 
de canon,” were employed for more than two months, being paid from three 
to four sous a day each. We find 400 shafts of arrows “pour traire de 
canons” made at a cost of 5 sous per 100, and winged with brass, consisting 
partly of old pots cut up and melted down for the purpose; the wings or 
feathers so made being nailed to the shafts, which also had leather bound 
round them at their extremities to prevent the wings touching the sides of, 
and to keep the arrow fitting closely to, the bore. 
The cannon itself, though very small, was in two parts, the tube which 
received the arrow, and the box in which was placed the charge of powder. 
This box, when loaded was placed in the end of the tube, and a wedge called 
a “ laichet ” kept it in its place. The powder was ignited by an iron rod 
heated in a charcoal fire. 
The material for the powder consisted of 2f lb. of saltpetre, which cost 
30 sous per lb., and 2^ lb., of sulphur, which cost a little more than 7 sous 
per lb. Allowing for the charcoal being added, this quantity would only 
give from 7 to 7J lb. of powder; about l|lb. of powder for 80 arrows, or 
less than J oz. for each discharge. 2 
1 These extracts were first published by M. de la Fons Melicocq, in an 8vo. pamphlet. Paris, 
1855. 
2 It may he interesting here to note the price of the articles used in comparison with the wages 
already mentioned. 
The following articles were bought amongst others:— 
An old brass pot, 20 sous. 
16| lbs. of brass at 2 sous, 6 deniers, per lb. 
6500 nails, at 3s. 6d. per 1000. 
These must have been small nails, for 400 nails for the leather cost 4s. 8d.; 2f lbs. of 
saltpetre at 30 sous per lb.; 2| lbs. of sulphur at 7s. 2d. per lb.; a wedge 2 sous. 
[VOL. IV.] .* 
39 
