I've never seen it, but if you can post a picture I'd be glad to take a crack at it. Although it would be quite historically wrong for the movie to include flintlock pistols, I wouldn't be surprised if it did - likely British Sea Service pattern.
Historically speaking, the Three Musketeers story really predates the idea of a model of firearm, that really started with the British Brown Bess in 1722, before then firearms were really just made to a general pattern rather than specified standards.
In fact, during the reign of Louis XIV, "muskets" had yet to become what we now understand the term to mean. They were heavy caliber weapons, fired from a forked rest, intended to penetrate plate armor, as opposed to the lighter arquebusse, and they were typically matchlocks - flintlocks wouldn't become popular until the 1660s. Musketeers were specialist troops trained to use these weapons, usually deployed at the front of a formation and receiving double pay because of the inherent risks. Dumas got it right that the Musketeers of the Guard was an elite and fashionable unit that was hard to get into, but the idea of them as swashbuckling swordsman is pretty incorrect.
|
11-05-2009, 02:36 PM
Threaded Mode