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Gunpowder Warfare In The Renaissance: 3 Book Recommendations

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I recently finished three books on renaissance warfare and would recommend all of them, to the handful of people that may be interested. They all cover the change in technology, tactics, fortifications, and give an overview of the conflicts, so I will provide some highlights or what differentiates them from the rest.

Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics, by Bert S. Hall. If your interest is only in gunpowder weapons, this is the best one. The author focuses on science and technology the most out of these three books and follows the change in gunpowder types. He also looks at studies on round ball ballistics and velocity. One possible issue is that he tries to dig the deepest across multiple fields, which allows more room for error.

The Renaissance At War, by Thomas F. Arnold. If you are interested in the renaissance as a time period, this is the best one. The author looks at how the idea and themes of the renaissance related to the new tools and methods of warfare, such as how princes interested in antiquity used the roman and Greek ideas when creating new pike and shot armies. A fun feature is the frequent addition of tables or standalone sections that cover topics such as the weight of different artillery types, or the cost. While still heavily covered, this book focuses on gunpowder weapons the least.

The Art of Renaissance Warfare: From the Fall of Constantinople to The Thirty Years War, by Stephen Turnbull. If you want to learn about the conflicts or soldier's personal experiences, this is the best one. This book mostly covers the conflicts themselves and goes through a chronology based on the chapter topic, such as looking at different sieges in the chapter on fortifications. A particularly great feature is looking at how renaissance warfare changed over 100 years as told by three French knights: Bayard, Blaise de Monluc, and Francois de la Noue. All three had their careers ended by arquebus shot (2 fatally). Blaise de Monluc was even shot by an arquebus in one arm and and longbow in the other, so is the best possible person to speak to the differences. One issue is that the author takes autobiographical accounts at face value, such as the factually controversial ones of John Smith.

I listed these in the order I read them, which is why the summaries get progressively longer. The first was probably my favorite, followed by the third.
 
I just finished reading "The Italian Renaissance" by J. H. Plumb. This book is about the art and some of the notable persons of the Renaissance era solely in Italy. It has nothing to do with weapons, but it does, often, mention about the various wars that raged between the city states of Milan, Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples, and others. Italy was not one nation then, but rather a war-torn conglomerate of separate city states continuously fighting among themselves.
Prior to reading this book I had always thought of "The Renaissance" as an age of enlightenment. Well, yes, maybe as far as the arts of painting, sculpture, and writing are concerned, but oh what a brutal time it was otherwise.
 
I just finished reading "The Italian Renaissance" by J. H. Plumb. This book is about the art and some of the notable persons of the Renaissance era solely in Italy. It has nothing to do with weapons, but it does, often, mention about the various wars that raged between the city states of Milan, Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples, and others. Italy was not one nation then, but rather a war-torn conglomerate of separate city states continuously fighting among themselves.
Prior to reading this book I had always thought of "The Renaissance" as an age of enlightenment. Well, yes, maybe as far as the arts of painting, sculpture, and writing are concerned, but oh what a brutal time it was otherwise.
All these three books heavily cover the Italian wars. I also read a book on just the Italian wars recently. You are very correct. The brutality was sickening. Reading the accounts of slaughter during the ottoman wars, Italian wars, and Dutch revolt made me put down the books sometimes.
 
"Of the Cruelty of Men
Creatures shall be seen upon the earth who will always be fighting one with another with very great losses and frequently deaths on either side. These shall set no bounds to their malice; by their fierce limbs a great number of the trees in the immense forests of the world shall be laid level with the ground; and when they have crammed themselves with food it shall gratify their desire to deal out death, affliction, labors, terrors, and banishment to every living thing. And by reason of their boundless pride they shall wish to rise towards heaven, but the excessive weight of their limbs shall hold them down. There shall be nothing remaining on the earth or under the earth or in the waters that shall not be pursued and molested and destroyed, and that which is one country taken away to another, and their own bodies shall be made the tomb and the means of transit of all the living bodies which they have slain. O Earth! what delays thee to open and hurl them headlong into the deep fissures of thy huge abysses and caverns, and no longer to display in the sight of heaven so savage and ruthless a monster?"
Leonardo da Vinci
 
"Of the Cruelty of Men
Creatures shall be seen upon the earth who will always be fighting one with another with very great losses and frequently deaths on either side. These shall set no bounds to their malice; by their fierce limbs a great number of the trees in the immense forests of the world shall be laid level with the ground; and when they have crammed themselves with food it shall gratify their desire to deal out death, affliction, labors, terrors, and banishment to every living thing. And by reason of their boundless pride they shall wish to rise towards heaven, but the excessive weight of their limbs shall hold them down. There shall be nothing remaining on the earth or under the earth or in the waters that shall not be pursued and molested and destroyed, and that which is one country taken away to another, and their own bodies shall be made the tomb and the means of transit of all the living bodies which they have slain. O Earth! what delays thee to open and hurl them headlong into the deep fissures of thy huge abysses and caverns, and no longer to display in the sight of heaven so savage and ruthless a monster?"
Leonardo da Vinci
That is a great quote and clearly built on first hand experience.
 
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