The Renaissance Drill Book

by Jacob De Gheyn

Jacob de Gheyn's 'Exercise of Armes' was an immense success when first published in 1607. It is a fascinating seventeenth-century military manual, designed to instruct contemporary soldiers how to handle arms effectively, and correctly, and it makes for a unique glimpse into warfare as waged in the Thirty Years War and the English Civil War. The manual uses illustrations to clearly demonstrate drills for soldiers employing calivers and muskets. It shows how to load and fire, or merely carry, a matchlock piece. In addition detailed illustrations show the various movements and postures to be adopted during use of the pike. There are 117 illustrations contained in this book and all are fine examples of seventeenth-century art. Each image is detailed and evocative and students of military history and military costume are sure to find them of immense interest. Jacob de Gheyn's manual is an important insight into how the armies of Europe operated in the field in the seventeenth century, but it is also an attractive book of considerable charm and character.

Genres: History

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1607

Reviews

[Benjaminxjackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book if you are interested in 17th century weapons and military history. The book is mostly pictures with a few pages of text and an introduction. While I found it an interesting book to browse through, I would have enjoyed it more if there had been more description about the kinds of battles these weapons were used in and what some of the positions with the pike were used against.

For those interested in military history and weapons, this book would be a good companion to other texts. For the general reader, you might want to read and talk about this book with a history buff to get a full understanding. Now, who do I know with that kind of knowledge?

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're interested in early 17th Century pike drills this is the book.

[Moises Cordova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations with the drills for caliver (arquebus), Musket and Pike, Interesting book but I think the editor should have included more information or comments about the illustrations.