Hundred Years War, Black Death, Thirty Years War
I finally decided to remove my confusion.
Hundred Years' War 1337–1453
England vs. France. A succession war.
Black Death 1347–1351
Hits during HYW (peak)
Thirty Years' War 1618–1648
Religious/Political in Germany. Many fled central Europe for the north American colonies.
So, understand. After fighting for 10 years, the Black Death breaks out, killing almost half the population. After which they resumed fighting for another 100 years!
Military technology of the day involved gunpowder and primitive cannons that used either large balls or multi-barrel units that used scattershot. After awhile they bombarded castles with it.
The arquebus, a shoulder fired light cannon used to defend castle perimeters wasn't really invented until about 1411 or 1425. Matchlock triggers were invented after the Hundred Years War.
Gemini, as pertains to the arquebus: The word derives from the German Hakenbüchse (meaning "hook gun"
. Originally, it was not a shoulder weapon; it was a heavy, primitive hand cannon featuring a metal lug or "hook" on the bottom of the barrel. Soldiers hooked it over city battlements or wagon forts to absorb the severe recoil.
Not much of a history lesson, but clarifies it in my mind.
= new reply since forum marked as read
