waggoners Navigational guides containing charts and
sailing instructions. The word is an English corruption of
the Dutch name “waghenaer.” Lucas Jansz. Waghenaer’s
Spieghel der Zeevaerdt (1584–85; translated as The Ma-
riners Mirrour, 1588) popularized printed sailing charts,
standardized navigational techniques, and brought the
best contemporary mathematical and astronomical data
within reach of the ordinary mariner.
warfare Wars in all their varieties constantly swept Re-
naissance Europe. The HOLY ROMAN EMPIREnever fully
reintegrated itself after local and religious wars; the Hun-
dred Years’ War (1337–1453) and the Wars of RELIGION
(1562–98) brought France close to collapse; the Haps-
burg–Valois conflict raged over Europe for over 60 years;
the Turkish army twice threatened Vienna. At the same
time as warfare advanced technically and the horrors of
FIREARMSbecame more apparent there was a growing
awareness of the brutality of war and correspondingly less
emphasis on its romantic glories.
The English longbow was the most effective 14th-
century weapon, but the introduction, probably by the
English at Crécy (1346), of GUNPOWDERwas the most sig-
nificant development. Warfare became more technical and
more expensive; this favored the evolution of royal and
national armies and weakened the private feudal armies.
Monarchs relied more on skilled MERCENARIESand less on
untrained feudal levies. By the 15th century the new CAN-
NONcould demolish medieval castle walls, a further blow
to the power of feudal lords. The efficacy of gunpowder in
artillery and, slightly later, in mining posed new chal-
lenges to the military architects and engineers responsible
for defensive FORTIFICATION. The arquebus, a firearm that
a man could carry, was developed. The first printed edi-
tion of the Latin text of De re militari by the late Roman
military writer Flavius Vegetius appeared in Utrecht in
1473, and it was published in at least four further editions
before 1500, in addition to translations into German
(Ulm, 1475) and English (published by Caxton, 1489).
The study of tactics, artillery, and technique was all part of
the more professional approach to warfare, with military
experts (such as VALTURIO) and theoreticians (such as
MACHIAVELLI) commanding an attentive audience.
In the 16th century pistols and muskets were in-
vented. At the battle of PAVIA(1525) General Fernando de
Avalos proved the worth of the musket in the rout of the
French cavalry by Spanish musketeers. The 16th century
also saw great advances in naval warfare. Admirals, such
as Sir Francis DRAKE, Andrea DORIA, and Don JOHN OF AUS-
TRIA, made effective use of lighter and more maneuverable
ships.
Further reading: John F. Guilmartin Jr, Gunpowder
and Galleys: Changing Technology and Mediterranean War-
fare at Sea in the Sixteenth Century (London and New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1974); John R. Hale, War and
Society in Renaissance Europe 1450–1620 (Leicester, U.K.:
Leicester University Press and London: Fontana, 1985);
∼, Artists and Warfare in the Renaissance (New Haven,
Conn. and London: Yale University Press, 1990); Bert S.
Hall, Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpow-
der, Technology, and Tactics (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hop-
kins University Press, 2002); David Kunzle, From
Criminal to Courtier: The Soldier in Netherlandish Art
1550–1672 (Leyden, Netherlands: Brill, 2002).Wars of Italy See ITALY, WARS OFW
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