A Cultural History of War in the Renaissance

The Age of Renaissance (roughly three centuries stretching from the 15th to 17th) in Europe witnessed momentous political, economic, and cultural changes. The emergence of nation states, gunpowder oriented Military Revolution and a spurt in paintings and sculpture characterized the Western European landscape. However, as the eight essays in this volume show, these changes were not unique to Western Europe. Historians are finding traces of Military Revolution beyond North-West Europe. Big agrarian bureaucratic empires in China and India with large Gross National Products, enormous demographic resources and substantial military manpower continued to operate with verve until circa 1750. One essayist demonstrates that military humanism and military urbanism were common trends in Eurasia. As far as Eurasia is concerned, one can discern two trends. First, warfare was gradually becoming secularized, and second, there was a gradual transition from temporary contract armies to permanent state sponsored military forces. Beyond Eurasia, the picture was fuzzy. This is due to dearth of “human” and “natural archives”. Overall, this volume argues that to write global histories in the new millennium, we need to look beyond Western European developments from the perspectives of the non-West. A Cultural History of War is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available as hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a tangible reference for their shelves or as part of a fully-searchable digital library. The digital product is available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access via www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com. Individual volumes for academics and researchers interested in specific historical periods are also available in print or digitally via www.bloomsburycollections.com.