Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.96 (803 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0801869943 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-07-31 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Bridging the fields of military history and the history of technologyand challenging past assumptions about Europe's "gunpowder revolution"Hall discovers a complex and fascinating story. Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe explores the history of gunpowder in Europe from the thirteenth century, when it was first imported from China, to the sixteenth century, as firearms became central to the conduct of war. Military inventors faced a host of challenges, he finds, from Europe's lack of naturally occurring saltpeterone of gunpowder's major componentsto the limitations of smooth-bore firearms. Hall details the efforts of armorers across Europe as they experimented with a variety of gunpowder recipes and gunsmithing techniques, and he examines the integration of new weapons into the existing structure of European warfare.. Manufacturing cheap, reliable gunpowder proved a difficult feat, as did making firearms that had reasonably predictable performance characteristics
Military history buffs will find much of interest in these pages. When rival armies gained access to this technology, the psychological use of firearms gave way to their employment as weapons of mass destruction. Bert S. . Strategists, he writes, first used guns as a means of inducing panic in an enemy. Hall focuses closely on the last innovation to examine the effects of changes in military technology on European history in the late Middle Ages and early modern era. Francis Bacon, writing in 1620, remarked that the magnetic compass, the prin
James D Cobb said Excellent combination of technology, society and tactics. More than miltary buffs should read this book. Hall intertwines facets of technology and society to clarify how each can affect the other. Gunpowder did not sweep away the Middle Ages; the thought of the Middle Ages and Renaissance molded how and why gunpowder would be used. Hall makes the point that a new techology such as gunpowder does not dominate progress but is rather only an ingredient in a very complicated mix of elements.. "Outstanding." according to Marco Morin. 1.000 words could be not enough to praise this book. Bert Hall produced a long needed work that will remain a foundation-stone in military technology of the black powder era.. Original thinking and excellent scholarship. E. A. Hunter It didn't take long for me to be pleasantly surprised at the high level of scholarship and clearly presented facts, the sort of writing all too often lacking from this area of history. As the author notes, many technology historians, military historians, and arms and armor writers propagate continuing myths and assumptions that can't be supported when the facts are examined closely. Here, Hall does the topic justice and it is clear he did his homework. The c