The first introduction of hand-guns into England, we find, was soon after their invention in Italy; in the year 1471, King Edward IV., landed at Ravenspurg, in Yorkshire, and brought with him, among other forces, three hundred Flemings, armed with “hange-gunnes.” In 1474, he directed “all the bombs, cannon, culverines, fowlers, surpentines, and all other cannon whatsoever, as also powder, sulphur, saltpetre, stones, iron, lead and other materials, fit and necessary for the same cannon, wherever found, to be taken and provided for his use, paying a reasonable price for the same.” ~Harquebusiers.~ ~Morat 1476.~ Arquebusiers, or harquebusiers, are mentioned as troops, by Philip de Comines, in these words, where he speaks of the battle of Morat, fought on the 22nd of June, 1476. “The said towns had in their army, as some that were in the battle informed me, 35,000 men, whereof fower thousand were horsemen, the rest footmen, well chosen and well armed, that is to say, 10,000 pikes, 10,000 halberds, and 10,000 harquebusiers.” ~Improvements.~ ~Held to breast.~ ~Bent butt.~ ~Hackbutt.~ Hitherto the harquebuss had only a straight stock, but now it had a wide butt end, which might be placed against the right breast, and thus held more steadily. Many ancient pieces were held to the breast instead of the shoulder, which will account for their being so short in the stock. A notch was made in the butt for the thumb of the right hand, in order to hold the piece more firmly. When the butt was bent down or hooked as it was at a later period, it was called, from the German word Hake, a hackbutt, haggebut or hagbut, the small sort being denominated demi-hags. ~Mounted Harquebussiers.~ Philip de Commines mentions that there were at the battle of Fourniée, in 1495, German harquebusiers, on foot and on horseback. (Plate 19, fig. 6.) ~Arms in time of Henry VIII.~ The small arms in the time of Henry VIII., were hand-guns, haguebuts, demi-hagues and the pistol, and it was enacted, “that no hand-gun should be used, of less than one yard, gun and stock included, and the haguebut was not to be under three-quarters of a yard.” The demi-hagues were still smaller, and gave occasion for the origin of pistols, which were invented in the latter part of this reign, at Pistoria in Tuscany. The dag, dagger, or tache, differed from the pistol merely in the shape of its handle. ~Inconveniences of match.~ ~Objections to fire-arms.~ ~Rest.~ ~Wheel-lock, 1517.~ ~Used at Parma, 1521.~ ~In England, 1530.~ ~Serpentine and wheel.~