On Motion: the Bombard that Casts its Ball Farthest
A gunnery rule with a drawn ballistic arc, a series of ratios, and a name written upside-down
Under the heading 'De moto', Leonardo states that the bombard which drives its ball farthest is the one that most breaks its ramparts, tying the range of the shot to its destructive force. The note accompanies a drawn arc topped by a cross above a row of forms, beneath which runs a numeric series (1 1/2, 1 2/3, 1 2/5, 1 1/7...) with the counts 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, and a small circle is sketched at the lower left. Written upside-down across the head of the sheet is the name of Count Francesco Torello.
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The bombard that hurls its ball farthest
On motion: that bombard drives its ball farthest from itself which most breaks its own ramparts. Leonardo links the range of the shot to the destructive force it delivers on impact.
Ballistic arc above a row of forms
An arc topped by a small cross rises over a row of drawn shapes, a schematic of the projectile's flight. The gunnery context ties the diagram to the range and impact of a bombard's shot.
Graduated series of ratios
Beneath the arc Leonardo sets down a series of fractions — 1 1/2, 1 2/3, 1 2/5, 1 1/7 — together with the whole numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 4. The figures graduate the proportions attached to the flight.
Name of Count Francesco Torello
Written upside-down along the top of the sheet is the name of Count Francesco Torello, one of Leonardo's jotted memoranda of a person.