Abstract
As revealed by the title itself, the study deals with the material requirements of fifteenth-century armies and their significant implications for state formation. In particular, the book demonstrates the intervention of early modern governments in the market for strategic materials by investigating economic policies and diplomatic negotiations aimed at satisfying an increasing demand for equine resources. Such analysis focuses on four peculiar case studies: the control over regional fairs exercised by the dukes of Milan and the penetration of overseas trade circuits by the agents of the marquises of Mantua, the large investment in royal breeding grounds and farms by the kings of Naples and the management of the stables by the lords of Ferrara. Moreover, the administration of one of the largest mercenary companies of the time is considered, starting with a re-interpretation of the data contained in its ledgers. In general, the research is based on mostly unpublished sources, especially account books, but also princely correspondence, hippiatric treatises, and humanistic literature.
From a political viewpoint, the findings underscore the interest of the renaissance state in military resources, as well as the development of innovative approaches to the procurement of critical commodities and the revolutionary issues of early modern warfare. At the same time, the research illustrates the social conflicts that lay behind fifteenth-century logistics by examining the establishment of princely breeding grounds and the opposition to the related territorialization processes, or the controversies caused by a tighter control over the horse market. The book also emphasizes how much the mobilization of materiel depended on intermediation and compromise, stressing the involvement of numerous workers – foreign merchants and specialized dealers, city artisans and rural farriers, horse trainers, stable boys – in the logistics of new permanent contingents and showing how profitable this public-private partnership was, even in the late medieval period. Last but not least, the investigation proves that the provision of warhorses impacted the labor relation between men-at-arms and their hirers, as the regular supply of mounts widened the economic dependence of cavalrymen while reinforcing patronage links between rulers, condottieri, and soldiers. Nevertheless, by providing their fighters with the tools of the trade and by making a career in the ranks more attractive, fifteenth-century governments effectively facilitated the recruitment of larger, standing armies.
But there is more. For the first time, this groundbreaking book examines the market for horses in late medieval Italy, the institutionalization of specialized fairs, and the various typologies of animals on sale, further discussing the multifaceted fifteenth-century concept of race as well as the development of equine beauty ideals in hippiatric texts and humanistic treatises. Another chapter is entirely focused on the manufacture of and trade in horse tack, a topic analyzed through a combination of both documentary and iconographic evidence. Most importantly, the research highlights the cultural importance of destriers and princely stables in Renaissance Italy by exploring the extraordinary Neapolitan milieu, a context profoundly characterized by equestrianism long before the appearance of the renowned and revered sixteenth-century masters. From this viewpoint, the research clearly shows the paramount connection between aristocratic ethos, military career, and riding ability at the court of Ferrante d’Aragona – a monarch who also supported the revival of Southern Italian veterinary, ambitiously linked to human medicine by several local authors and lucidly exploited to maintain thousands of king’s warhorses in perfect shape.
From a political viewpoint, the findings underscore the interest of the renaissance state in military resources, as well as the development of innovative approaches to the procurement of critical commodities and the revolutionary issues of early modern warfare. At the same time, the research illustrates the social conflicts that lay behind fifteenth-century logistics by examining the establishment of princely breeding grounds and the opposition to the related territorialization processes, or the controversies caused by a tighter control over the horse market. The book also emphasizes how much the mobilization of materiel depended on intermediation and compromise, stressing the involvement of numerous workers – foreign merchants and specialized dealers, city artisans and rural farriers, horse trainers, stable boys – in the logistics of new permanent contingents and showing how profitable this public-private partnership was, even in the late medieval period. Last but not least, the investigation proves that the provision of warhorses impacted the labor relation between men-at-arms and their hirers, as the regular supply of mounts widened the economic dependence of cavalrymen while reinforcing patronage links between rulers, condottieri, and soldiers. Nevertheless, by providing their fighters with the tools of the trade and by making a career in the ranks more attractive, fifteenth-century governments effectively facilitated the recruitment of larger, standing armies.
But there is more. For the first time, this groundbreaking book examines the market for horses in late medieval Italy, the institutionalization of specialized fairs, and the various typologies of animals on sale, further discussing the multifaceted fifteenth-century concept of race as well as the development of equine beauty ideals in hippiatric texts and humanistic treatises. Another chapter is entirely focused on the manufacture of and trade in horse tack, a topic analyzed through a combination of both documentary and iconographic evidence. Most importantly, the research highlights the cultural importance of destriers and princely stables in Renaissance Italy by exploring the extraordinary Neapolitan milieu, a context profoundly characterized by equestrianism long before the appearance of the renowned and revered sixteenth-century masters. From this viewpoint, the research clearly shows the paramount connection between aristocratic ethos, military career, and riding ability at the court of Ferrante d’Aragona – a monarch who also supported the revival of Southern Italian veterinary, ambitiously linked to human medicine by several local authors and lucidly exploited to maintain thousands of king’s warhorses in perfect shape.
| Original language | Italian |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Il Mulino. Bologna |
| Number of pages | 504 |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2024 |
Keywords
- Renaissance Italy
- Economic History
- Logistics
- State Formation
- Warhorses
- State Capacity
- Rural History
- Diplomatic History