The most common firearm during the first half of the 17th century was the matchlock musket. Rather than striking a spark to light the gunpowder, the musketeer carried a slow-burning piece of rope known as a slow-match. This was held in the "serpentine". When the trigger was pulled, the serpentine would move down, touching the burning end of the match to the priming powder.
The muskets were long and heavy so the musketeers usually carried
rests - sticks with a fork at the end to rest the musket on.
Individual charges of gunpowder were kept in tubes hanging from
a belt worn over the left shoulder (these can best be seen in
the second picture below). The belt was known as a bandoleer.
The steps below were what was needed to fire a loaded musket. There are several more steps for loading.
Handle your piece - unshoulder the piece and place it on the rest, near the balancing point. Only the left hand is needed to balance the piece when the rest is used.
Take forth your match -
transfer the burning match from the left hand to the right hand.
Blow off your coal -
blow off any loose ash from the burning end of the slow-match.
Cock your match - put
the burning end of the slow-match between the jaws of the serpentine.
Try your match - with
the pan cover closed, carefully move the serpentine to make sure
that the match will hit the priming powder.
Guard your pan -
use two fingers to cover the pan to keep random sparks from setting
off the piece.
Blow off the coal -
while still covering the pan with two fingers, blow on the match
to make the coal glow.
Present & give fire
- bring the stock to the shoulder, open the pan cover, and pull
the trigger (slowly so that the match is not stubbed out).
