Firearms and Fortifications

by Simon Pepper

With lively narrative and detailed illustrations, Simon Pepper and Nicholas Adams trace the evolving relationship between technological innovations in firearms in sixteenth-century Italy and advances in Renaissance military architecture and city fortification. Through their use of paintings and drawings, extensive archival research and first-hand observation at the major sites of the Sienese wars, they vividly recreate the drama of the battlefield.

Genres: History

245 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1986

Reviews

[Alistair Jeffery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not for everyone, but this is a very interesting and (relatively) fast moving history of the siege of Siena in 1553, and the associated attacks on Montalcino and Porto Ercole. There is clearly a wealth of historical documents surviving this period which the authors had access to, allowing them to describe the personalities involved and for some sections, day by day accounts of the battles that were fought and won or lost.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific piece of research about the evolution of siege craft and fortifications in the early gunpowder age.