THE ART OF SHOOTING GREAT ORDNANCE: A History of the Development, Manufacture and Use of Artillery, 1494-1628

1-231030

The period 1494-1628 was critical in the history of artillery. Guns, gunpowder, and gun carriages underwent such major transformations that they would remain virtually unchanged for three centuries.

This book explains the development and use of artillery during this critical period. The forge and foundry where they were made and the lives of the men who made them are also thoroughly investigated. Starts with the development of medieval artillery and then establishes the real significance of the French invasion of Italy in 1494 -- often seen as the beginning of an artillery revolution. The development of a new artillery in the late medieval period contributed to the events of 1494 and confirmed the significance of these changes in the popular imagination and in the minds of later historians. Includes 124 b/w ills, 39 b/w photos, 9 color ills, 15 color photos, and 37 tables.