The Italian Wars 1494-1559 outlines the major impact that these wars had, not just on the history of Italy, but on the history of Europe as a whole. It provides the first detailed account of the entire course of the wars, covering all the campaigns and placing the military conflicts in their political, diplomatic, social and economic contexts. Throughout the book, new developments in military tactics, the composition of armies, the balance between infantry and cavalry, and the use of firearms are described and analysed. How Italians of all sectors of society reacted to the wars and the inevitable political and social change that they brought about is also examined, offering a view of the wars from a variety of perspectives. Fully updated and containing a range of maps as well as a brand-new chapter on propaganda and images of war, this second edition of The Italian Wars 1494-1559 is essential reading for all students of Renaissance and military history.

The Italian Wars 1494-1559 outlines the major impact that these wars had, not just on the history of Italy, but on the history of Europe as a whole. It provides the first detailed account of the entire course of the wars, covering all the campaigns and placing the military conflicts in their political, diplomatic, social and economic contexts. Throughout the book, new developments in military tactics, the composition of armies, the balance between infantry and cavalry, and the use of firearms are described and analysed. How Italians of all sectors of society reacted to the wars and the inevitable political and social change that they brought about is also examined, offering a view of the wars from a variety of perspectives. Fully updated and containing a range of maps as well as a brand-new chapter on propaganda and images of war, this second edition of The Italian Wars 1494-1559 is essential reading for all students of Renaissance and military history.

Political changes between 1918 and 1939 had important implications for German writers. The essays in this volume focus on questions such as the writers' relationship to political parties and ideology, their treatment of the legacy of World War I, and their response to the rise of fascism.

The description or depiction of leisure activities has formed part of the subject matter of art and literature for a long time. This volume looks at funeral games in Homer, leisure as depicted in painting, and the part that literature played in promoting athleticism in public schools and Oxbridge.

[This] substantial book...makes an important and stimulating contribution. MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY Warfare in Europe in the middle ages underwent a marked change of emphasis as urban life expanded. The concentration of wealth represented by a city was a valuable objective, and the static nature of a siege was infinitely preferable to the uncertainties of campaign. As the incidence of sieges increased, so pitched battles declined. The studies in this book, intended for specialists as well as general readers, follow the history of siege warfare, exploringthe urban milieu within which it developed, and the evolution of siege technology up to the advent of gunpowder weaponry. The logistics of specific sieges, from the Crusader kingdoms in the Near East and the Byzantine Empire as well as medieval Europe, are also considered, with evidence from literature, engineering, architecture and cliometrics. IVY CORFIS is professor in the department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; MICHAEL WOLFE is professor in the department of history at Penn State University, Altoona. Contributors: MICHAEL WOLFE, JAMES F. POWERS, MICHAEL TOCH, DENYS PRINGLE, ERIC McGEER, PAUL E. CHEVEDDEN, MICHAEL HARNEY, HEATHER ARDEN, WINTHROP WETHERBEE, KELLY DEVRIES, MICHAEL MALLETT, BERT S. HALL.

Michael Mallett's classic study of Renaissance warfare in Italy is as relevant today as it was when it was first published a generation ago. His lucid account of the age of the condottieri - the mercenary captains of fortune - and of the soldiers who fought under them is set in the wider context of the Italian society of the time and of the warring city-states who employed them. A fascinating picture emerges of the mercenaries themselves, of their commanders and their campaigns, but also of the way in which war was organized and practised in the Renaissance world. The book concentrates on the fifteenth century, a confused period of turbulence and transition when standing armies were formed in Italy and more modern types of military organisation took hold across Europe. But it also looks back to the middle ages and the fourteenth century, and forward to the Italian wars of the sixteenth century when foreign armies disputed the European balance of power on Italian soil. Michael Mallett's pioneering study, which embodies much scholarly research into this neglected, often misunderstood subject, is essential reading for any one who is keen to understand the history of warfare in the late medieval period and the Renaissance.