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Darrera modificació: 2009-08-30
Bases de dades: Sciència.cat
Williams, Alan, The Knight and the Blast Furnace: A History of the Metallurgy of Armour in the Middle Ages & the Early Modern Period, Leiden, E. J. Brill (History of Warfare, 12), 2003, xii + 956 pp.
- Resum
- The suit of armour distinguishes the European Middle Ages & Renaissance from all other periods and cultures. Unlike flexible defences, popular everywhere else in the world, the rigid, articulated, exoskeleton of a "suit of armour" was a more extravagant and less adaptable means of personal protection. It required greater metallurgical resources to make, but offered far better protection against available weapons. This book tells the story from its invention in 14th century Lombardy, which depended on the production of the necessary steel, until its eventual decline in the 17th century, principally because of the development of another military technology, the gun. The metallurgy of 600 armours has been analysed, and their probable effectiveness in battle is assessed by means of mechanical tests.
Table of contents:
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Sect. 1 Iron
1.1 The earliest ironmaking
1.2 Swords
1.3 Hardening of steel
Sect. 2 Mail
2.1 Mail
2.2 Armour of the later Roman Empire and the early Middle Ages
Sect. 3 Knights
3.1 The birth of the knight
3.2 Infantry and crossbows
Sect. 4 Italy
4.1 The triumph of an industry
4.2 The flourishing of an industry - The Metallurgy of Italian armour
4.3 The metallurgy of Italian armour before 1510
4.4 The eclipse of an industry - Italian armour after 1510
4.5 The metallurgy of Italian armour after 1510
Sect. 5 Germany
5.1 "German" armour up to 1450
5.2 The metallurgy of "German" armour up to 1450
5.3 Augsburg armour
5.4 The metallurgy of Augsburg armour from the later 15th century onwards
5.5 Innsbruck armour
5.6 The metallurgy of Innsbruck armour
5.7 Landshut armour
5.8 The metallurgy of Landshut armour
5.9 Nurnberg armour
5.10 The metallurgy of Nurnberg armour
5.11 The metallurgy of Nurnberg tournament armours of the late 15th century
Sect. 6 The Rest of Europe
6.1 Miscellaneous "German" armour
6.2 Flanders
6.3 The metallurgy of Flemish armour
6.4 England
6.5 The metallurgy of armour (presumed to have been) made in England
6.6 Spain
6.7 France
6.8 Sweden
6.9 North Germany and The Netherlands
Sect. 7 Guns
7.1 The invention of guns
7.2 The earliest guns in Europe
7.3 Guns in 15th century warfare
7.4 Handguns in the 16th century
Sect. 8 Production
8.1 Furnaces and blooms
8.2 Hardening armour
8.3 The mass-production of armour
Sect. 9 Protection
9.1 Thickness of armour
9.2 Attack on armour
9.3 Effectiveness of armour according to contemporary evidence
9.4 Estimating the effectiveness of armour
9.5 Conclusion - Did it work?
- Matèries
- Història de la tècnica
Guerra
- Notes
- Fitxa de l'editor: http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=210&pid=10349
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