The basilisk was a very heavy

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

employed during the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

. The barrel of a basilisk could weigh up to 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) and could have a

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, but not artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or wher ...

of up to 13 cm (5 inches). On average they were around 3 meters long (10 feet), though some, like Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol, were almost three times that length. The basilisk got its name from the mythological

basilisk In European bestiary, bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a Serpent symbolism, serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Natural History (Pliny), Naturalis Histo ...

: a fire-breathing venomous serpent that could cause large-scale destruction and kill its victims with its glance alone. It was thought that the very sight of its 72 kg (160 lb) shot would be enough to scare the enemy to death. In 1588 the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

was equipped with many basilisks for their invasion of England with the intent of using them to besiege towns loyal to

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. Many of these guns were lost when the ships were wrecked on their return to Spain. Due to its large size, the basilisk fell out of favour of European generals, who preferred lighter, more accurate artillery in the late 16th century. A late example is the Maltese Gun, built in Holland in 1607 and, like many of its contemporaries, fitted with a replacement carriage during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

References

{{Early firearms Cannon Medieval artillery Renaissance-era weapons

See also

Further reading

References