Bernese Gunner with Spingarda

With the invention of gunpowder and the construction of firearms, the term came to mean a light piece of artillery that fired, at most, five to six pounds, down to six ounces. , and for the navy, even of a single ounce (on the emery type).

Originally the spingarda, also called springalda or spurardo (from the old French espringale, derived from the Franconian springan “jump, jump”), was a 14th century war machine, in the shape of a large crossbow, used to throw large stones or verrettoni.

The larger ones were fixed on trestles and held with wooden blocks. The smaller ones became real portable weapons and almost handicapped, like the rifle. The big guns had a masculine to charge them; the smaller ones did not have them, and they were all of one piece like cannons. Finally they were also called archibusoni.

The guns came to be up to 5 m long and varying in caliber from 21 to 82 mm