{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.linstock","code":"thing-q953721","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q953721/","name":"linstock","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.OBJ"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A linstock is a staff with a holder for a lighted slow match, historically used to ignite the priming powder at a cannon's vent while keeping the gunner some distance from it.","purpose":"Enable an agent to recognise a linstock, assess its completeness and condition, and determine appropriate documentation, conservation or handling actions.","scope":{"in":["Staff, match-holding head and their attachment","Physical interface with separately modelled slow match","Identification of complete, fragmentary and reconstructed examples","Evidence of artillery service, secondary weapon features or rank display","Condition and restrictions relevant to conservation, display and handling"],"out":["Slow-match composition, manufacture and combustion chemistry","Cannon, carriage, propellant and ammunition models","Artillery firing procedures and crew drill","Gunlocks and other independent ignition mechanisms","General polearm typology beyond features needed to distinguish linstocks"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Look for a staff-mounted arrangement specifically intended to retain slow match; a shaft and blade alone do not establish linstock identity.","Distinguish the durable holder from the consumable match cord it carries.","Distinguish a separately handled match holder from a firing mechanism mounted on a gun.","Do not exclude elaborate or bladed examples: documented linstocks combine match holders with defensive blades and rank-signalling decoration. [Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/26684)"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"identity-and-boundaries","name":"Identity and boundaries","description":"Establish what makes the registered thing a linstock and how uncertain examples are represented.","layers":[{"id":"match-holder-identity","name":"Match-holder identity","description":"Assess the features supporting identification as an artillery match holder.","findings":[{"id":"functional-identification","name":"Functional identification","description":"Require an evidenced match-retention feature or documentary identification; a catalogue label alone may need qualification.","questions":[{"text":"Which surviving feature supports identification as a holder for slow match?","id":"functional-identification-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What evidence distinguishes this candidate from a spear, halberd or another staff-mounted implement?","id":"functional-identification-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"assembly-and-neighbours","name":"Assembly and neighbours","description":"Separate the linstock from its consumable, associated gun and incomplete surviving parts.","findings":[{"id":"object-boundary","name":"Object boundary","description":"Represent the holder as the thing, with component and association links that do not absorb the match or cannon.","questions":[{"text":"Does the record describe a complete linstock, a detached head or an attributed fragment?","id":"object-boundary-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which attached or associated items belong to separate slow-match, artillery or collection records?","id":"object-boundary-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"head-staff-and-retention","name":"Head, staff and retention","description":"Describe the physical arrangement that supports and retains the match.","layers":[{"id":"match-retention-geometry","name":"Match-retention geometry","description":"Record the configuration and surviving condition of the match holders.","findings":[{"id":"holder-form","name":"Holder form","description":"Describe the actual retention features without treating one elaborate historical design as universal.","questions":[{"text":"How many match-retaining features survive, and what are their shapes and attachment methods?","id":"holder-form-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which features are original, bent, missing or restored according to examination records?","id":"holder-form-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"staff-and-head-assembly","name":"Staff and head assembly","description":"Record dimensions, materials and the connection between working head and staff.","findings":[{"id":"assembly-evidence","name":"Assembly evidence","description":"Keep complete-object measurements separate from component measurements and identify replacement staffs explicitly.","questions":[{"text":"What are the measured overall and component dimensions, and which parts were present during measurement?","id":"assembly-evidence-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What evidence establishes the materials and originality of the staff, head and attachment?","id":"assembly-evidence-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"historical-function-and-variation","name":"Historical function and variation","description":"Connect physical features to documented artillery use and additional historical roles.","layers":[{"id":"artillery-association","name":"Artillery association","description":"Distinguish documented service relationships from inferred compatibility.","findings":[{"id":"service-context","name":"Service context","description":"Record the evidence linking an example or variant to artillery service without supplying firing instructions.","questions":[{"text":"Which collection record, inventory or historical depiction supports its artillery association?","id":"service-context-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is association with a particular gun, crew or setting documented or inferred?","id":"service-context-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"secondary-features","name":"Secondary features","description":"Interpret blades and ornament without making them necessary attributes of every linstock.","findings":[{"id":"defence-and-rank","name":"Defence and rank","description":"Some documented examples combine match-holding arms with a defensive blade and decoration associated with artillery rank. [Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/26684)","questions":[{"text":"Does this example carry a blade or point, and what evidence supports its attributed purpose?","id":"defence-and-rank-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What evidence supports interpreting its decoration as rank display rather than ornament alone?","id":"defence-and-rank-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"condition-and-action","name":"Condition and action","description":"Connect the condition of the linstock and any attached match to justified handling decisions.","layers":[{"id":"structural-condition","name":"Structural condition","description":"Assess the staff, head attachment and projecting retention features before movement or mounting.","findings":[{"id":"handling-integrity","name":"Handling integrity","description":"Record component instability and deterioration, including uncertainty where an assembly has not been examined.","questions":[{"text":"Are the head attachment, staff and match-retaining projections stable according to the latest assessment?","id":"handling-integrity-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What support or handling restrictions follow from the recorded damage and component mass?","id":"handling-integrity-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"match-state-and-use-permission","name":"Match state and use permission","description":"Separate attached-match condition, physical capability and authorisation for the proposed activity.","findings":[{"id":"action-eligibility","name":"Action eligibility","description":"Do not infer demonstration suitability from completeness, reproduction status or historical use.","questions":[{"text":"Is attached material identified, and is its heat or combustion state known?","id":"action-eligibility-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which recorded condition assessment and applicable institutional rules permit the proposed handling, display or demonstration?","id":"action-eligibility-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of linstock this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of linstock this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of linstock this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of linstock this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe the linstock and its role in historical artillery, with sources.","Catalogue and care for linstocks in museum collections."],"mustNot":["Help anyone fire a muzzle-loading gun outside a licensed, supervised demonstration.","Give guidance on handling black powder or slow match.","Misattribute a replica as an original antique."],"requiresHuman":["Using a linstock in any live firing demonstration."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Historical weapons are heritage, but live firing still endangers people."],"affectedParties":["Re-enactors","Spectators","Museum visitors"]},"owners":{"steward":"The museum, collector or re-enactment group that holds it.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Museum collection catalogues"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q111337375","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.linstock","Wikidata: Q953721 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q953721)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Identification confidence: confirmed; probable; uncertain; disputed","Match-holder configuration: Record holder count, shape, retention method and evidence of alteration","Surviving assembly: complete assembly; head only; staff only; fragment; reconstructed assembly; unknown","Overall and component dimensions: mm, separately identifying overall length, head length, head width and staff diameter","Assembly mass: g, with measured components identified","Component materials: Observed or analysed material for staff, head, fasteners and surface finish; unknown where unverified","Head and staff integrity: Record looseness, cracks, deformation, corrosion, missing fasteners and assessment date","Attached match condition: absent; inert representation; present and unlit; smouldering; extinguished but potentially hot; unknown","Historical attribution: Links to dated records, collection entries, attributed region and documented service context","Originality and permitted use: Record original, reproduction, composite or uncertain status separately from display, handling or demonstration authorisation"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["A wooden staff, often with a pointed foot, topped by a forked or decorated metal holder.","The holder grips a length of slow match at the head."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Classify a candidate from match-holder features and supporting records.","Document head, staff and replacements as components of one assembly.","Compare dimensions and holder configurations across evidenced examples.","Flag unstable attachments or uncertain attached material for specialist assessment.","Select conservation, display or handling actions supported by recorded condition and permissions."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["A lit match near black powder can cause accidental ignition and burns."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Linstocks occur in historical artillery collections, archaeological assemblages and interpretations of early gunpowder warfare.","They held a burning slow match for cannon ignition while providing some separation between the gunner and the vent.","Present-day assessment commonly concerns identification, documentation and conservation of the staff and match holder."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q953721: linstock","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q953721","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Linstock","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linstock","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Which historical and regional sources establish the full range of linstock forms, including plain staffs without elaborate metal heads?","What terminology reliably separates linstocks from portfire holders and other match-supporting implements in different collections?","What dimension and mass ranges emerge from a representative sample after separating complete examples, detached heads and replacement staffs?","Which examination methods can distinguish original match-retention features and staffs from later restorations?","Which current institutional requirements apply to reproduction linstocks used in demonstrations, and how do they differ by jurisdiction?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q953721/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q953721/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T10:58:41Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"not-applicable","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-09T07:30:04+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.interfaces":"No dedicated contemporary product standard applies to a linstock considered solely as a historical collection object."},"score":1.0}}