Mons Meg is a fifteenth-century bombard, a large medieval siege cannon, held in the Royal Armouries collection and displayed at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. Built in June 1449, likely by the gunsmith Jehan Cambier, on the order of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in Mons in what is now Belgium, it was presented to James II of Scotland in 1454 and used in sieges into the mid-sixteenth century before becoming a largely ceremonial piece. With a bore of about 20 inches, or 510mm, and a mass of some 6.6 metric tons, it fired stone shot weighing around 175 kilograms; its barrel burst during a firing in 1680, and after decades in the Tower of London it was returned to Edinburgh Castle in 1829 following a campaign led by Sir Walter Scott. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Weapon ClassBombard (large medieval siege cannon) 1 Introduced Year Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Sources
1. Wikipedia: Mons Meg
Lead section, first paragraph
Mons Meg is a medieval bombard in the collection of the Royal Armouries, on loan to Historic Environment Scotland and located at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland.
Lead section, second paragraph
Mons Meg was built in 1449 on the orders of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and sent by him as a gift to James II, King of Scots, in 1454.
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
- Introduced circa 1449 per the entity's own sourced description text; no pre-1900 weapon system remains in current active military service.
Caliber attribute (mons-meg)
With a bore of about 20 inches, or 510mm, and a mass of some 6.6 metric tons, it fired stone shot weighing around 175 kilograms; its barrel burst during a firing in 1680, and after decades in the Tower of London it was returned to Edinburgh Castle in 1829 following a campaign led by Sir Walter Scott.
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.