WAR BOOKS OF MEDIEVAL GERMANY

Late medieval Europe experienced many dramatic changes in art, culture, and technology, including rapid improvements in the systems of warfare. Shifts in military matters coincided with explosive growth in the produc- tion of written manuscripts. At the intersection of military innovation and literature, we find new types of special- ized technical treatises in the Holy Roman Empire, which may provide detailed insights into the social and mil- itary transformations for which the age is famous.

By Jean Chandler

Whereas Italy was the epicentre of technological and cultural developments during the late medieval and early modern periods, Central Europe also experienced innovations. The spread of the paper mill north of the Alps, and the proliferation of scriptoria from Flanders down the Rhineland and into Swabia, led to the movable type printing press of Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-fifteenth century. The development of the Stromer paper mill just outside of Nuremberg in 1396 also coincided with a regional boom in the production of art. Innovators such as Albrecht Dürer, Martin Schongauer, and the mysterious “Master of the Housebook” exploited new techniques like drypoint and copper plate engraving, as well as simpler woodcut printing, to liberate themselves from the patronage of capricious princes and prelates. This spilled over into the production…

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Medieval World Culture & Conflict (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 7 - 2023

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