The Renaissance Drill Book

Book excerpt: Jacob de Gheyn's 'Exercise of Armes' was an immense success when first published in 1607. It is a fascinating seventeenth-century military manual, designed to instruct contemporary soldiers how to handle arms effectively, and correctly, and it makes for a unique glimpse into warfare as waged in the Thirty Years War and the English Civil War. The manual uses illustrations to clearly demonstrate drills for soldiers employing calivers and muskets. It shows how to load and fire, or merely carry, a matchlock piece. In addition detailed illustrations show the various movements and postures to be adopted during use of the pike. There are 117 illustrations contained in this book and all are fine examples of seventeenth-century art. Each image is detailed and evocative and students of military history and military costume are sure to find them of immense interest. Jacob de Gheyn's manual is an important insight into how the armies of Europe operated in the field in the seventeenth century, but it is also an attractive book of considerable charm and character.