Brief Description:  The organ gun (or ribauldequin) was a late-medieval volley gun featuring multiple small-caliber barrels mounted parallel on a single wooden cart or carriage. Named for its resemblance to the pipes of a church organ, the weapon fired a devastating, simultaneous barrage of lead balls to decimate massed infantry formations.

Key Design and Operational Features:

Barrel Arrangement: Weapons typically ranged from 3 to 12 barrels, though massive, experimental versions contained up to 50 or even 144 barrels.

Ignition: Barrels were loaded with black powder and ball. Gunners fired them sequentially or as a single simultaneous blast by igniting a connected powder train or using a hand-held linstock.

Mobility: Because it was notoriously heavy and cumbersome to reload, the gun was typically mounted on a two-wheeled cart or ship rails to help absorb its severe recoil.