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Plate 005 · Bombard · Medieval

Faule Mette

A 15th-century German super-sized bombard, melted down centuries later for scrap.

Faule Mette — Engraving, Public Domain
Engraving, Public Domain · Public DomainView on Wikimedia Commons →

Historical Record

Provenance & Service

Cast in 1411 by Henning Bussenschutte for the city of Brunswick, the 'Lazy Mette' was one of the largest wrought iron bombards of medieval Europe. She was fired only twelve times in her life — the elaborate ceremony around each shot took an entire day — before being melted down in 1787.