After many sieges lasting literally years, there was a military breakthrough that changed everything. A smaller more portable cannon was developed with two projections to the side in the middle that allowed the cannon to be aimed. These were called
“Trunions”
from the French word for
tree trunk
.
King Charles III and the French army brought these new trunion cannons into Italy in 1494, and took on the previously unconquerable castles of Italy. The cannons were placed against town walls so quickly, spaced together so closely and shot so rapidly and with such force that battles were won in a matter of hours. Castle fortifications that had previously withstood 7 year sieges fell in an afternoon as the French quickly moved these cannons into a small concentrated groups and blasted holes in the castle walls. Just as the Atom Bomb forever transformed warfare at the end of World War II in Japan, the entire geography of Europe changed as the result of the simple trunion.
Moving ahead to more modern times we see the concept of the Trunion still with us. Trunion brackets show up in the Accessories and Hardware of LED Lighting fixtures. Often called a “U” or “Universal” bracket, the trunion bracket mounts to the side of the lighting fixture, allowing the fixture to be aimed or tilted, just as the cannons were aimed during the Middle-Age warfare.
