Book description
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. Bridging the fields of military history and the history of technology -- and…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This book is unique, to my mind, in topic and style. How is it possible to write engagingly about such a niche subject? Gunpowder was invented in China, but it was in Renaissance Europe that it became adapted to warfare (to say the very least).
This book covers a neglected aspect of technological history in an age otherwise much written about and covers it readably.
From Mark's list on science and technology.
While the title of this book implies a pretty broad subject, its true focus is on the development of gunpowder weapons and the awkward, often halting, development of their use during the Renaissance. The scope and depth of Hall’s research is frankly arresting, which makes it so much fun to read. There is essentially nothing about the early days of gunpowder and the weapons it gave rise to that you won’t find in this book. You'll learn why artillerists became a highly paid guild of specialists, why urine was so crucial to gunpowder production, why the challenge of storing…
From Cormac's list on early modern European warfare.
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