With the invention of gunpowder, infantry gained a new advantage over the battlefield. At first, this was limited by the weight of the new harquebus which required a separate stand for firing. However in the early 15th century, Gustavus Adolphus introduced a lighter musket that could be fired from the shoulder and a fixed cartridge that carried both shot and powder. Firing faster, the new Musketeers thinned to only six rows and abandoned their now outdated protection of pikes.