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ribauldequin

A ribauldequin, also known as a rabauld, randy, ribault, ribaudkin, infernal machine or organ gun, was a late medieval volley gun with many small-caliber iron barrels set up parallel on a platform, in use in medieval and early modern Europe during the Renaissance period. The name organ gun comes from the resemblance of the multiple barrels to a pipe organ. When the gun was fired, multiple barrels discharged their projectiles at once, yielding a much higher rate of fire than single-barrel (typically larger-caliber) guns.

ribauldequin

Ribauldequin (or organ gun), 16 th century, Germany. This mobile weapon consisting of 12 barrels of 66.5 cm long, can shoot lead balls of 16 to 18 mm. The frame was reconstructed from a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. Photo taken in the Château de Castelnaud, Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, Dordogne, Aquitaine, France.

Sémhur · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field
volley gun

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A ribauldequin, also known as a rabauld, randy, ribault, ribaudkin, infernal machine or organ gun, was a late medieval volley gun with many small-caliber iron barrels set up parallel on a platform, in use in medieval and early modern Europe during the Renaissance period. The name organ gun comes from the resemblance of the multiple barrels to a pipe organ. When the gun was fired, multiple barrels discharged their projectiles at once, yielding a much higher rate of fire than single-barrel (typically larger-caliber) guns.

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wikipedia incomplete · checked 25 September 2026

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wikidata · Q1366139 · wikipedia · Ribauldequin

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  1. 01Origins and development
  2. 02Notes, references and evidence

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