Today I recieved my copy of the old "Arms and Armor Annual " volume 1 from 1973. I noticed that in the chapter titled
" Futher Notes on the Origins of the Wheellock " by Claude Blair there is this page or two on the "famous" Monk's Gun of Dresden dated approximately somewhere between 1450 and 1550. It is supposed to have been the brain-child of the monk Berthold Schwartz, the father of European gunpowder. The description of how this device operates leaves me more confused than when I first saw the photo of it.
This monks gun is surpossed to be "famous " according to Claude Blair ( which I dont doubt ) but I have not seen it, or anything like it before. It is 11ins long, has a belt-clip and is of 7/16 in dia. bore and made of blued iron. It uses "Pyrites" which according to dictionary.com is any of various metallic-looking sulfides and also "Fools Gold". I have not read of any early gun using pyrides, but thats probably out of my own ignorance.
A decent Google search found zip on this one, and so I was wondering if any of you have heard of this ( apparently unique ) and "Famous" firearm or might even have some decent pictures of it ?
Thanks for you input.
Cheers !

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Pyrites are to thrown sparks in wheelock firearms.

As far as I gather, the gun is fired by inserting the rasp (the "key" shown above the gun) into the slot on the side of the gun (the fittings. The gun would the be primed, and the cock, with the pyrites lowered in place, like on a wheelock.

the rasp would then be pulled quckly backwards, kind of like on a toy helicopter, uhm, rasping against the pyrites, producing sparks which ignites the priming

On the wheelock, the rasp is replaced by a serrated wheel, powered by a spring.
However, it strikes sparks from pyrites in the same way...

If that helped.

Merv;

Yup, that's the "Monk's Gun" alright, and it's fairly famous, at least in archane firearms circles. Some have claimed that it is the predicessor of the wheellock, but others have suggested that it's at best contemporaneous, as some of the aspects of the dog/cock/whatever you want to call it arm that holds the pyrites has some fairly developed aspects. Anyway, it's definitely an oddity.

If you can track down a copy, the next installment from Robert Held is entitled "Art, Arms and Armour", and has an article from an Italian gentleman (who's name escapes me at the moment) who argues against Blair's Italian origins of the wheellock thesis, and there is some mention of the Monk's Gun within the text of that article too, as I recall. Most interesting reading I assure you.

And Elling is quite correct as to the firing mechanism, such as it is. Works just as he has explained. :)

Cheers!

Gordon