Italian Wars 1492-1518
14.99 €
Out of stock
Italian Wars 1492-1518
14.99 €
The Italian Wars of the late 15th and first half of the 16th centuries were the largest military conflict since the Hundred Years' War, fought between two powers of late medieval Europe: centralized France, which was at the height of its power, and Spain, which was just beginning its journey toward an imperial future under the scepter of two sovereigns, Isabella and Ferdinand. The dispute was over the possession of the Kingdom of Naples and the Duchy of Milan. Italy was politically weak and, divided into many city-states, became easy prey for its neighbors.
The battlefields saw the emergence of knights and military leaders whose names thundered throughout Europe: the Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, "the great military leader," and the Frenchman Pierre Bayard, "the knight without fear and reproach." It was in these wars that the star of European chivalry finally set, giving way to a new force – the Spanish infantry, which struck fear into all of Europe for the next hundred and fifty years. The Italian Wars changed not only the art of war. The rulers, forced to maintain large armies, had to find new ways to collect taxes and manage the territories under their control. That is why it can be said that the Italian Wars became the prologue to the birth of Modern Europe.
The battlefields saw the emergence of knights and military leaders whose names thundered throughout Europe: the Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, "the great military leader," and the Frenchman Pierre Bayard, "the knight without fear and reproach." It was in these wars that the star of European chivalry finally set, giving way to a new force – the Spanish infantry, which struck fear into all of Europe for the next hundred and fifty years. The Italian Wars changed not only the art of war. The rulers, forced to maintain large armies, had to find new ways to collect taxes and manage the territories under their control. That is why it can be said that the Italian Wars became the prologue to the birth of Modern Europe.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author
- All books in the series Small Book