“A Terrible Worm in an Iron Cocoon”:
War in Medieval & Renaissance Europe
Prof. Christopher Carlsmith
Western Civilization
12 May 2008
Comparing Past and Present
• For each of the military
conflicts listed, discuss in
pairs:
– Did offensive or defensive
forces hold the advantage?
– What new military
technology (if any)
changed the balance of
power?
• Iraq War / Gulf War
(2003-present, 1991-92)
• WW I (1914-18) / WWII
(1941-1945)
• Amer. Rev. (1776-83)
• Medieval/Renaiss. wars
(14th-16th c.)
Agenda
• Preface
• Comparing warfare, past and present
• Introduction
• Areas of change
• Offense vs. Defense
• Medieval Warfare
• Equipment: Castles, cavalry, crossbow, trebuchet
• Strategy
• Renaissance Warfare
•
•
•
•
Revisiting the Classical World
Gunpowder: The Big Bang
Cannon, musket, mortar
Fortifications
Art of War: a “revolution”?
• “Renaissance war”
• Leonardo
• Michelangelo
• Machiavelli
• Areas of change
• Offense vs. Defense?
• 14th c. = D.
• 15th c. = O.
• 16th c. = D.
Leonardo’s study of catapults
Leonardo’s sketch of tanks
Medieval Warfare
• Castles
– Defense > residence
– Ex: Castle Coucy (FR)
Castle (Donjon) of Coucy
Medieval Warfare
• Cavalry
– Dominates until 1370s
– Equiv. to modern tank
– “terrible worm in an
iron cocoon”
– Chivalry & nobility
rules
– Multiple attendants
(how many “lances”?)
– Ex: Knights Templar
Medieval Warfare
• Trebuchet
– Classic siege engine
• Catapult
Medieval Warfare
• Crossbow
– Slow, awkward, but
devastating force
– Banned by RCC in 1139
– Imp’t till 14th c.
• Longbow
– Introduced in 100 Yrs. War
by English
– 12 arrows/min, 300 yd.
range
Medieval Warfare
xenophongroup.com/montjoie/ ngp_arty.htm
Medieval Warfare
• Strategy
– Joint use of forces
(archers, cavalry, etc)
– Limited by weather &
distance
– Divided leadership is
common
– Pillage is common,
both during & after
Medieval
Warfare
Who will win this
battle, and why?
Renaissance Warfare:
When & Where & Who?
Renaissance Warfare:
Looking to the Classical World
Roman soldiers battering a door, from Roberto Valturio (ca. 1550)
Renaissance Warfare:
Looking to the Classical World
Guido delle Colonne,
History, Siege, and
Destruction of Troy
(1513)
Renaissance Warfare:
Looking to the Classical World
Tactics of Aelian, trans. John
Bingham (1616)
Renaissance Warfare:
Gunpowder
Gunpowder
• Origins
• From Asia
• Carbon, saltpeter,
sulphur
• Criticism
• 1467, 1497
• Praise
• See next
Praising Gunpowder
F. Malthus, Treatise of Fireworks (1629)
J. Babington, Pyrotechnia
Mortar
• = mechanized
trebuchet
Cannon
Cannon
Musket & Arquebus
Musketeer
Musket-Loading
Infantry
Pikeman
Evolving Strategy
Fortifications
• Better artillery 
better fortifications
• Medieval towers cut
down, transformed
into “bastions” and
gun platforms
•
“The most significant architectural
form during the Renaiss. was the
angle bastion; it revolutionized
patterns of warfare.” (John Hale)
Angle Bastions
Renaissance Fortifications in the
New World
Renaissance Warfare: ?!?
Renaissance Warfare:
Some Conclusions