The Complete Soldier: Military Books and Military Culture in Early Stuart England, 1603-1645

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BRILL, 2009 - History - 439 pages
The period 1603-1645 witnessed the publication of more than ninety books, manuals, and broadsheets dedicated to educating Englishmen in the military arts. Written with the intention of creating the a oecomplete soldiera, this didactic literature provided gentlemen with the requisite knowledge to engage in infantry, cavalry, and siege warfare. Drawing on military history and book history, this is the first detailed study of the impact of military books on military practice in Jacobean and Caroline England. Putting military books firmly in the hands of soldiers, this work examines the circles that purchased and debated new titles, the veterans who authored them, and their influence on military thought and training in the years leading up to the English Civil War.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
Military Books and Military Culture 15721603
19
Military Circles and Books in Early Stuart England
73
The Evolution of the English Drill Manual
135
The Analytical Treatise and Infantry Warfare
195
Military Books and Mounted Warfare
261
Siegecraft Treatises in Early Stuart England
313
Conclusion
371
Appendix Military Books Printed in English 16031645
375
Selected Bibliography
393
Index
417
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About the author (2009)

David R. Lawrence, Ph.D. (2006) in History, University of Toronto, is a lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Toronto and in the Renaissance Studies Program at Victoria College, University of Toronto.

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