Brief Description:  The Bâton à feu (French for "Fire stick") is an early, highly rudimentary type of hand cannon developed in Western Europe during the 14th century. It represents the earliest form of portable black-powder artillery.

The weapon generally consisted of a short, thick-walled metal tube (the barrel) that was permanently or temporarily mounted to the end of a wooden staff or tiller.

It was operated as follows:

Materials: Barrels were typically cast in iron, bronze, or brass, and sometimes featured an octagonal or hexagonal exterior.

Loading: The weapon was muzzle-loaded with black powder and a projectile, which was initially a stone ball or metal pellet.

Ignition: It lacked any mechanical trigger or firing lock mechanism. Instead, the gunner had to manually ignite the gunpowder through a small touch-hole on top of the barrel using a smoldering piece of wood, a glowing coal, or a slow-burning match.

Handling: To aim and steady the violent kickback of the weapon, the wooden pole could be rested against the ground, braced under the gunner's arm, or handled by two soldiers working in tandem.