The Military Organisation of a Renaissance State
Venice c.1400 to 1617

This book describes the role and organization of the land forces of a renaissance state.

M. E. Mallett (Author), J. R. Hale (Author)

9780521032476, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 November 2006

544 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 3.4 cm, 0.807 kg

This book describes the role and organization of the land forces of a renaissance state over a long period. It thus provides a model against which the military development of other countries can be measured in terms of the composition, control and cost of armies. Above all, it redresses the imbalance whereby only the naval forces of Venice have been studied seriously. It is thus an essential contribution to an understanding of the extension and maintenance of an empire by land and sea, and of the strength in troops and fortifications that preserved Venice as the one truly independent state in sixteenth-century Italy. It also adds significantly to an understanding of the relationship between Venice and the republic's subject territories.

List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
References and abbreviations
Part I. c. 1400 to 1508: Introduction: the European context 1400–1525
1. The beginnings of Venetian expansion
2. The composition and role of the army in the fifteenth century
3. Military development and fighting potential
4. The organization and administration of the Venetian army
5. Control and policy making
6. Soldiers and the state
7. Venice and war
Part II. 1509–1617: 8. The historical role of the land forces 1509–1617
9. The wars
10. Government: policy, control and administration
11. The higher command
12. Manpower
13. Cavalry, infantry, artillery
14. Fortifications in the Terraferma
15. The defense of the maritime empire
16. The costs of defense and war
Conclusion: the European context 1525–1617
Appendix: infantry wages in the sixteenth century
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]