Warfare During the Renaissance
Warfare did not get invented during the Renaissance, but there were some significant innovations. Feudal cavalry lost its strength of the battlefield, infantry gained in stature, states learned how to field large armies for long periods of time. Most important of all, however, was the use of gunpowder.
The chief result of these innovations was that warfare once and for all was taken out of the hands of private individuals (the nobility) and was taken over by the nation-state. Moreover, war became so expensive and destructive that it became ever more difficult and dangerous for small states to wage war, even at the local level. Warfare became big business and the business of big players.
Decline of feudal Cavalry
Up until the 14th century, the battlefield belonged to the medieval knight. The knight of 1300 was well armored. Plate mail was still in the future, but armor had developed to the point where most of a knight was covered in metal, and even his horse wore padded armor. The knight was adept at the use of the lance, the sword and the shield, and was every bit as effective on foot as he was on horseback.
What happened in the 14th century was that there emerged other forces on the field that could withstand the feudal cavalry charge and could even win battles. The most notable of these were the English Longbowmen and the Swiss Pikemen.
English Longbows
The English longbow was much bigger than other bows. It was as tall as a man or taller and could fire with accuracy well over 200 yards. An English archer could fire accurately three arrows a minute and when pressed could double that rate. A hundred archers could launch a thousand arrows a minute, with withering results, due to the fact that there arrows were much lighter, and wind caused them to change direction after about 50 feet. The longbow is credited with the English victory at Crècy (1346) and Poitiers (1356). Because an arrow fired from a longbow could pierce chain mail armor, it gave to common foot soldiers a weapon that could withstand the nobility. Not surprisingly, the noble class despised both crossbows and longbows.
A Longbow was reasonably cheap to make and Edward III was able to require all able-bodied Englishmen to become proficient in its use. Archers alone were not enough to win the day, but they modified battlefield tactics, serving as mobi...
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...gredient of the modern army had been created. The most significant effect of gunpowder was that it required the resources of the nation-state to exploit. It took money, organization, and sustained effort to put into the field armies with cannons and harquebusiers. To meet these demands, princes learned to tax their people annually and efficiently (or, at least, more efficiently than before). In effect, the nation-state was always at war, or at least taxed its people as if that were so. This was due to the creation of standing armies, which had to be paid for continually. Princes took the control of armies out of the hands of their barons and put it in the hands of professionals paid by the royal fisc. City-states and small principalities lacked the ability to wage war at this level, and they began to surrender to the larger nation-states.
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Chris Poetz
The Met museum said that the most popular used weapons were “spear, sword, axe, and the bow and arrow.” These weapons and tactics of fighting then became the backbone of weapons today, such as guns. Spears, bows and arrows allow knights to fight from a distance, such as hand grenades and guns used in today’s military.
Long distance weapons were essential to European combat. The main long distance weapons used by Europeans during that time were the longbow and the crossbow. Each form of weaponry had its unique advantages and their pejorative. The long bow (shown in figure 1) was the original form of distance weapons. The term ‘bow’ means to be made from wood, iron or steel. The Welsh, who inhabited England, were the first people to use longbows. Longbows were 6-7 feet long and had a range of 250 yards, and still had the ability to pierce a knight’s armor (Byam 12). A well trained archer could shot 10- 12 arrows in a single minute. Despite these pro’s the longbow had a lot of disadvantages as well. One draw back was only skilled archers, who were costly to train, could use a longbow. Another disadvantage was it didn’t have a ready loaded arrow (Edge 34). The crossbow (shown in figure 2) on the other had been emphatically different. The crossbow had a span of 2-3 feet and could kill a knight on horseback with one shot, because of good aim (Byam 30). Crossbows had ready loaded projectiles, while the longbow didn’t and the crossbow could be used by anyone since it didn’t require any skill. The crossbow did have a down side though, it had slow reloaded because of a crank and it was expensive. Crossbows were also used for other thi...
In relation to war, the most preferred weapon was the javelin, which could be used for both close combat and long range. The javelin was a highly effective weapon and it ensured that those using it were not easy to defeat. Furthermore, the javelin was often used alongside a shield, which was essential for not only blocking attacks, but also kept the enemy at bay while the javelin was used to strike. 'The horse' was also used but because of having to use both a shield and
Frederick the Great exploited the advantages of military evolutions and revolutions to develop a powerful nation-state, Prussia, through the exploitation of economic and social policies forced Prussia advantage of superiority and employed their society norms upon others. The implement of the infantry, cavalry, and artillery assisted with the revolutionized Prussia to military superiority through the delivery of lethal strikes and unwavering means to survive. In conjunction with economic and social policies, the incorporation of increased military professionalism fostered forces that were more disciplined and utilized tactics, enabling military evolutions and revolutions to become more innovated. As Parker stated, “Prussia was thus a state
* Throughout the next few tens of thousands of years, humans had PLENTY of time to refine their techniques. Fire-hardening arrow heads, fletching arrow shafts to improve their flight characteristics, "tillering" bows so that the upper and lower limbs had the same bend radius, etc. All of these improvements helped increase the efficiency and accuracy of the bow and arrow, and helped humans to survive and advance throughout the ages.
Machiavelli also asserts the financial and logistic advantages of infantry. Due to the extensive upkeep of horses and equipment, cavalry drains a state’s treasury more
The longbow was very crucial to the English military. In this paper I will tell people about the English longbow and how dominant it was it their military. One will be surprised by the dominance of the longbow. I will tell one about wars, power, and draw a weight.
In medieval Europe there were many different weapons and types of fighting. It depended on the time period they fought in. “A soldier's choice of armor depended on the time during which he lived, the type of fighting he did and his economic situation” (Blackwell 1). Some types of fighting were hand-to-hand, which were swords, axes, and many more. Another type would be projectiles, like crossbows, javelins. The last one would be firearms which guns and others. “Many medieval soldiers wore armor to protect themselves from the weapons of their enemies” (Blackwell 2). Siege weapons such as catapults helped armies break into castles and towns. Most soldiers carried some blades in addition to their swords. “A dagger had a hilt like sword and a double-edged blade that was typically between 6 and 12 inches long” (Blackwell 1). Medieval soldiers used many weapons for hand-to-hand combat. All knights carried a sword with them and were expected to be skilled at swordplay. If you could afford swords then there was always something cheaper like the Quarterstaffs, which are long...
Advancements in technology and science contributed to one the most gory and bloodiest war in the annals of human existence. These new technological advancements revolutionized how people regarded war. War was no longer where the opposite forces fought in a coordinated battle. War evolved into game of cunning strategy where the side with the bigger, powerful, and smarter toys played better. This led to a fierce competition where each side tried to create the smarter machines and better weapons, leading to deadly mass killing weapons in the process. One weapon or machine was created and an even better one was made. New developments such as machine guns, poison gas, tanks, and new strategy to thwart trench warfare affected how WWI was fought and it came with catastrophic results.
In this essay, I will uncover the countless insights that can be learned about the characters in Beowulf, as well as the society as a whole, based on the weapons the characters choose to use in battle. During the Anglo-Saxon time, roughly between 400 and 1066, swords were considered the most precious weapon someone could own. Although it is not certain who wrote Beowulf, and when, many people believe it was composed in the middle to end of the Anglo-Saxon period. Analyzing the different weapons, and significance of each, in Beowulf, and comparing them to the weaponry at the time, provides the readers with a great deal of insight into the society during this period. The use of weapons in Beowulf not only provides the readers with insight into
The Renaissance was a very vital time in our history without the Renaissance era we would not have many of the advancements that we have today. This era not only influenced art, literature, and music but also today’s politics, religion and society. During the Renaissance, there were many new inventions in technology the way of thinking also changed. This was key to the development of western civilization.
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Bow and arrow improved this long-distance effect, have mechanized it and made it more efficient. Now, the extended arm could reach farther and the distance to the target became larger and more secure. From the beginning, man has used this weapon not only for hunting, but also for armed conflict, murder and raids.