Editing Arquebus (section)

{{Short description|Type of long gun appearing in 15th-century Europe}}
{{redirect|Arquebusier|the type of cavalry|Harquebusier}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
[[File:Musée du Château de Foix 02.jpg|thumb|17th-century arquebus at the [[Château de Foix]] museum, France]]

An '''arquebus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɑːr|k|(|w|)|ə|b|ə|s}} {{respell|AR|k(w)ə|bəs}}) is a form of [[long gun]] that appeared in Europe and the [[Ottoman Empire]] during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an '''arquebusier'''.

The term ''arquebus'' was applied to many different forms of [[firearms]] from the 15th to 17th centuries, but it originally referred to "a [[hand cannon|hand-gun]] with a hook-like projection or lug on its under surface, useful for steadying it against battlements or other objects when firing".{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=426}} These "hook guns" were in their earliest forms defensive weapons mounted on German city walls in the early 15th century.{{sfn|Chase|2003|p=61}} The addition of a shoulder stock, priming pan,<ref name=":03" /> and [[matchlock]] mechanism in the late 15th century turned the arquebus into a handheld firearm and also the first firearm equipped with a trigger.

The exact dating of the matchlock's appearance is disputed. It could have appeared in the Ottoman Empire as early as 1465 and in Europe a little before 1475.{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=443}} The heavy arquebus, which was then called a [[musket]], was developed to better penetrate plate armor and appeared in Europe around 1521.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotwars.com/equip_smoothbore_musketry.htm |title=Smoothbore Musketry - ScotWars |access-date=2013-02-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027115241/http://scotwars.com/equip_smoothbore_musketry.htm |archive-date=27 October 2012}} Smoothbore Musketry</ref> Heavy arquebuses mounted on [[war wagon]]s were called ''arquebus à croc''.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Arquebus|volume=2|pages=641–642}}</ref> These carried a [[lead]] ball of about {{convert|3.5|oz|-1|order=flip}}.<ref>{{Cyclopaedia 1728|title=ARQUEBUSS|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistSciTech/HistSciTech-idx?type=turn&entity=HistSciTech.Cyclopaedia01.p0187&id=HistSciTech.Cyclopaedia01&isize=M|page=342}}</ref>

A standardized arquebus, the ''caliver'', was introduced in the latter half of the 16th century. The name "caliver" is an English derivation from the French ''{{Lang|fr|calibre}}'' – a reference to the gun's standardized bore.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Caliver|volume=5|page=54}}</ref> The caliver allowed troops to load bullets faster since they fitted their guns more easily, whereas before soldiers often had to modify their bullets into suitable fits, or even made their own prior to battle.

The matchlock arquebus is considered the forerunner to the [[Flintlock#Muskets|flintlock musket]], and successor to the [[hand cannon]].