The 1378-1527 CE period of the Papal States is known for ’Renaissance popes’ who "concentrated their efforts on protecting their Italian domain and in lavishly reconstructing the city of Rome."
[1]
The Sistine Chapel, a popular symbol of the renaissance, was built between 1475-1481 CE commissioned by Sixtus IV. Goldthwaite has argued that the papacy’s return to Rome in 1378 inaugurated a phase of economic growth for the Rome and its hinterland, reflecting Rome’s dependence on the papacy, and not Lazio’s productivity, to stimulate the economy.
[2]
Before the sack of Rome in 1527 CE
[3]
the population had finally begun to grow again, from about 30,000 early in the 14th century to 55,000.
The Renaissance Popes attempted to systematize and unify the financial administration of the Papal State. This meant ending financial and judicial immunities, and rolling back the power of locally powerful bishops and abbots.
[4]
However, the vast bureaucracy the Pope oversaw was a fundamentally corrupt one, by the late 14th century founded on bribery, the sale of offices, and patronage politics.
[5]
During the fifteenth century, the sale of offices within the curia became routinized; and Peterson has estimated that under Pope Leo X (1513-1521), two thousand offices were for sale in the city of Rome alone.
[6]
The papacy’s ability to control the regions of the Papal States fluctuated dramatically during this period, especially during the Great Schism (1378-1417 CE). During the Schism, numerous ecclesiastical territories in the Papal State were seized by or alienated to secular lords.
[7]
The 1380s and 1390s were characterized by a long and futile struggle between the Roman and Avignon popes for control of territory and finances in central and southern Italy, with the long-term result being the destabilization of central Italy and the intensified decentralization of power in the Papal State, especially in the Romagna and le Marche.
[8]
In general, the various lords, cities, and feudatories of the papal states were ready and willing to rebel when possible, for example, in 1375 CE.
[9]
Furthermore, the lords of the petty Lords known as the Romagna were de facto independent for much of the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
[10]
During the mid-15th century, King Ferrante of Naples deliberately contracted with Roman barons for them to raise mercenary bands for his service, undercutting these barons’ feudal ties to the papacy.
[11]
As distinct from the previous centuries, up until 1494 CE the Papal States was usually free from influence of German emperors or Spanish kings,
[12]
but the drastically changed situation between 1494-1527 CE, following the French king Charles VIII’s invasion of Italy.
[13]
[1]: (Madigan 2015, 386) K Madigan. 2015. Medieval Christianity: A New History. Yale University Press. New Haven.
[2]: (Goldthwaite 2010, 172) Richard Goldthwaite. 2010. The Economy of Renaissance Florence. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University.
[3]: (Bairoch et al 1988, 47) Paul Bairoch. Jean Batou. Pierre Chèvre. 1988. The Population of European Cities from 800 to 1850. Geneva: Droz.
[4]: Partner, 385-87; Braudel, 697
[5]: (Martin 2002, 34) John M Marino, ed. Early Modern Italy, 1550-1796. Oxford: Oxford UP.
[6]: (Peterson 2010, 74) John M Najemy, ed. 2010. Italy in the Age of the Renaissance: 1300-1500. Oxford: Oxford UP.
[7]: (Partner 1972, 385) Peter Partner. 1972. The lands of Saint Peter. The Papal State in the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[8]: (Partner 1972, 371) Peter Partner. 1972. The lands of Saint Peter. The Papal State in the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[9]: (Partner 1972, 366-367) Peter Partner. 1972. The lands of Saint Peter. The Papal State in the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[10]: For these petty lordships, see Larner
[11]: (Mallett and Shaw 2012, 10) Michael Mallett and Christine Shaw. 2012 The Italian Wars, 1494-1559: War, state and society in early modern Europe. Harlow, England: Pearson.
[12]: (Najemy 2010) John M Najemy, ed. 2010. Italy in the Age of the Renaissance: 1300-1500. Oxford: Oxford UP.
[13]: (Ady 1975, 343-367) Denys Hay ed. 1975. The New Cambridge Modern History, I: The Renaissance, 1493-1520. Cambridge: Cambridge UP
| 33 T |
| Papal States - Renaissance Period |
| Rome |
| Patrimonium Sancti Petri | |
| Stato della Chiesa | |
| The Papal States | |
| Papal States Renaissance Period |
| none |
| Christendom |
| Papal States - Medieval Period I |
| continuity |
| UNCLEAR: [continuity] | |
| Succeeding: Papal States - Medieval Period I (it_papal_state_3) [continuity] |
| loose |
| [25,000 to 33,000] people | 1400 CE |
| 55,000 people | 1500 CE |
| 44,000 km2 |
| 600,000 people | 1400 CE |
| 1,600,000 people | 1500 CE |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
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| present |
| inferred present |
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| present |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| present |
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| inferred present |
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| absent |
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| Year Range | Papal States - Renaissance Period (it_papal_state_2) was in: |
|---|---|
| (1378 CE 1526 CE) | Latium |
Stato Pontificio
This was the year that Pope Julius II re-took Bologna and Perugia, deposing their lords and reincorporating them into the Papal State. Julius’ pontificate furthermore was a highpoint of the Roman Renaissance, as he sponsored artists such as Rafael and Michelangelo; in addition to this, Rome in the first quarter of the sixteenth century was a major diplomatic and political hub.
[1]
This peak date should be bracketed, however, given that Julius was widely reviled during his own time (Erasmus wrote a famous dialogue between him and St. Peter, castigating Julius’ worldliness) and by posterity as an excessively worldly pope. In addition, the almost completely secular orientation of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth-century popes was directly responsible for the Protestant Reformation, which would mark one of the greatest challenges to papal power the Church had ever faced.
[1]: Brown in Najemy, 262
The polity period begins with the return of the papacy to Rome, and ends with the Sack of Rome. Pope Urban V (r. 1362-70) attempted to return to Rome, but was driven out by the Romans and returned to Avignon in 1370.
[1]
The efforts of the papacy to return to Rome and the Patrimony were frequently stymied, and Urban VI’s eventual success (1377-78) in returning to Rome provoked the Great Schism.
[2]
Alternate start: 1417. "popes in the century between ca. 1430 and 1530 concentrated their efforts on protecting their Italian domain and in lavishly reconstructing the city of Rome. It is not for nothing that these pontiffs are often called "Renaissance popes."
[3]
1378-1527 CE
[1]: Logan, 305
[2]: on the schism, see in general Partner, 366-95, and Logan, 294-307
[3]: (Madigan 2015, 386)
The period up to 1494 was marked by a lack of foreign interference in Italian affairs. [1] As distinct from the 13th and most of the 14th centuries, the papacy was often free from domination by German emperors or Spanish kings, following the return to Rome. [2] Brackets should be added to indicate the drastically changed situation between 1494-1527, following the French king Charles VIII’s invasion of Italy. [3]
[1]: Najemy, 1
[2]: Najemy, 2
[3]: On the invasion and the subsequent Italian wars, see Ady in Hay , 343-67
However, during the period 1300-1450 CE "the idea of Christendom as a supranational entity toward which all Christians felt supreme loyalty and affection slowly collapsed. With the evolution of independent political and physical territories, soon to be called national monarchies or states, Christians began to choose between allegiance to state and devotion to church, and many chose the former. By the fifteenth century, the papacy ceased to function as a universal power and more and more like another regional Italian prince jealously guarding his fiefdom." [1]
[1]: (Madigan 2015, 369)
Cola di Rienzo’s Revolution in Rome. Nicholaus, severus et clemens, libertatis, pacis justiciaeque tribunus, et sacra Romana Reipublica liberator.
The papacy’s ability to control the papal states fluctuated dramatically during this period, especially during the Great Schism (1378-1417). In general, the various lords, cities, and feudatories of the papal states were ready and willing to rebel when possible (for example, in 1375. [1] ) Furthermore, the lords of the Romagna were de facto independent for much of the late 14th and early 15th centuries. [2] During the mid-15th century, King Ferrante of Naples deliberately contracted with Roman barons for them to raise mercenary bands for his service, undercutting these barons’ feudal ties to the papacy. [3] Brackets are required to reflect the consolidation of papal authority in the papal states during the fifteenth century, and the ambiguous relationship between papally-appointed, clerical officials and the local elites they were theoretically superior to. [4] Peterson has characterized the Church by this period as bureaucratic and legalistic, especially in the administration of the papal state. [5]
[1]: Partner, 366-67
[2]: For these petty lordships, see Larner
[3]: Mallett and Shaw, 10
[4]: For growing centralization under Martin V, see Partner, 402-09
[5]: Peterson in Najemy, 74
Latin remained the language of administration, culture, and intellectual life during this period. Beginning in the fifteenth century, however, vernacular (proto-Italian) became increasingly accepted as a language for poetry, personal correspondence, and literature. By the end of the period, Italian was used frequently, although the official language of the Church and papal administration remained (and remains today) Latin. [1]
[1]: On Latin and the rise of the vernacular, see Black in Najemy, 18-28
Rome remained the largest settlement in the Papal States during this period, although the population of the city plummeted drastically following the 1527 Sack of Rome. [1] Partner [2] has estimated a slightly lower population count for Rome around 1400, stating that its population was around 25,000 people.
[1]: Bairoch, et. al., 47
[2]: Partner, 398
Rome remained the largest settlement in the Papal States during this period, although the population of the city plummeted drastically following the 1527 Sack of Rome. [1] Partner [2] has estimated a slightly lower population count for Rome around 1400, stating that its population was around 25,000 people.
[1]: Bairoch, et. al., 47
[2]: Partner, 398
NB!: 40,000 is a very rough estimate, based on the firmer figure of 44,000 for the mid-17th century, when Ferrara was more or less securely a part of the Papal State. A lower figure seems more suitable for this period, when papal control over the papal states was less secure and often virtually non-existent due to schisms or rebellions. It remains rough, though, and needs more research (see my August 2014 status report-JFR). -- how do we code unsecurely held territory? to be consistent with coding of other polities we might code the full territory that was, that was claimed and for which effort was expended to be retained? - ET
c1200 CE 44,000
900,000: 1400 CE; 1,600,000: 1500 CE This figure is from Black.
[1]
The population of the papal states was severely affected by the Black Death (1347-49) and subsequent plague cycles (in particular, the plague of 1363 seems to have had a major impact). Black’s estimate would make the Papal State roughly equal to that of the Veneto: in the sixteenth century Venice and its Terrafirma were estimated to contain around one and a half million people.
[2]
Whereas the Veneto was mostly arable flatland in the Po River Valley, much of the Papal States was mountainous and contained dispersed or scarce population, so the total population may have been lower, especially in the immediate aftermath of the plague cycles of 1347-1349 and 1363-1364. Black has estimated that Italy as a whole had around 11 million people in 1500.
[3]
ET: McEvedy and Jones estimated that Italy as a whole had around 10,000,000 people in 1500 CE and 7,000,000 in 1400 CE after the Black Death "cut the population back by about a third."
[4]
The estimate we have for the preceding century is 300,000-1,500,000. 900,000 (mid-point figure) minus a third gives an estimate of 600,000 for 1400 CE.
[1]: Black, 218
[2]: Braudel, 846
[3]: Black, 21
[4]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 107)
900,000: 1400 CE; 1,600,000: 1500 CE This figure is from Black.
[1]
The population of the papal states was severely affected by the Black Death (1347-49) and subsequent plague cycles (in particular, the plague of 1363 seems to have had a major impact). Black’s estimate would make the Papal State roughly equal to that of the Veneto: in the sixteenth century Venice and its Terrafirma were estimated to contain around one and a half million people.
[2]
Whereas the Veneto was mostly arable flatland in the Po River Valley, much of the Papal States was mountainous and contained dispersed or scarce population, so the total population may have been lower, especially in the immediate aftermath of the plague cycles of 1347-1349 and 1363-1364. Black has estimated that Italy as a whole had around 11 million people in 1500.
[3]
ET: McEvedy and Jones estimated that Italy as a whole had around 10,000,000 people in 1500 CE and 7,000,000 in 1400 CE after the Black Death "cut the population back by about a third."
[4]
The estimate we have for the preceding century is 300,000-1,500,000. 900,000 (mid-point figure) minus a third gives an estimate of 600,000 for 1400 CE.
[1]: Black, 218
[2]: Braudel, 846
[3]: Black, 21
[4]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 107)
The papal palace complexes within Rome; Rome; large provincial cities (Bologna, Perugia); towns; villages
Papal palace complexes: The papal palaces in Rome-especially the Lateran and the Vatican-contained increasingly large bureaucracies, especially after the end of the Schism in 1417 and the return of a single, unitary papacy to Rome.
1. Rome: Rome contained between 30,000 and 55,000 people during this period, and was unquestionably the largest city of the papal states.
2. Large provincial cities: Bologna was the second city of the papal states in every way; next to Rome, it was the largest town, contained a venerable university, and was the socio-economic center of the Romagna region.
[1]
3. towns: Towns such as Ancona, Orvieto, or Terracina contained between 10,000 and 20,000 people, and often served as administrative centers for provincial government.
4. villages: Market towns or small towns such as Iesi in the Marche region; these often were little more than a population center with a market, parish church, and the local lord’s castle. An example of a small village of this nature which grew into a larger town is Loreto, also in le Marche: because of the shrine to the Holy House of the Virgin, it grew into a pilgrimage site during the 16th century.
(5. Hamlets)
[1]: Partner, 408-420, for Bologna during this period
Pope; Cardinals and legates; archbishops; bishops and abbots; parish priests and members of the religious orders; deacons.
1. Pope: The pope was, of course, the universally-acknowledged leader of Latin Christendom. This does not contradict the fact that who exactly was the legitimate pope was often contested during the period 1378-1418, during the Great Schism. During this period the papacy arrogated to itself the right to appoint bishops, negating the tradition of bishops being elected by their flock in conjunction with the priesthood.
[1]
2. Cardinals and legates: The cardinalate was crucial in theological decision-making and the religious aspects of papal government; legates, similarly, handled religious matters abroad on occasion.
3. Archbishops: To a certain extent, archbishops were equivalent to cardinals, but there were more of them, distributed throughout Christendom. They supervised their suffragan bishops and bishoprics, while also overseeing their own (a good example is the Archbishop of Milan).
4. Bishops and abbots: Bishops were the crucial link between local religion and the papacy. There were 263 bishoprics in 14th century Italy.
[2]
Abbots sometimes played a role beyond the walls of their monasteries, although by this point once-powerful regional centers such as Farfa were in decline in Lazio.
5. Parish priests and members of the religious orders: These constituted the mundane religious level. Parish priests embodied Christianity for their flock, for the most part, since they said Mass, heard confession and, in general, were (supposed to) serve as the quotidian face of the organized Church. Members of the religious orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, and so forth) also were a common part of the Church’s presence, especially in the towns.
[3]
[1]: Peterson,
[2]: Najemy, 62
[3]: For Franciscan activity in the Tuscan countryside in a slightly early period, see de La Roncière.
Pope; legates and rectors; counts and signori; mercenary leaders; rank and file.
1. Pope. The pope was the nominally supreme leader of all military efforts in the Papal States. Usually military campaigns were carried out by papally-appointed vicars or rectors such as Cardinal Albornoz, who was brutally effective in subduing le Marche and the Romagna in the 1350s and 1360s.
[1]
2. Legates, rectors:: These were usually the leaders of papal levies and conducted sieges, planned battles, and so forth. Functionally there was little difference between them and mercenary leaders employed by the papacy, although the legates were usually more loyal to the Church.
3. counts, signori: There’s a bit of fuzziness between this level and the "mercenary leader" level, since many ex-mercenaries set themselves up as petty lords within the Papal State.
[2]
4. Mercenary leaders: The condottieri-men such as John Hawkwood-were notoriously unreliable. The Florentines were able to buy Hawkwood away from the Papacy in 1375 for 130,000 florins.
[3]
Although standing armies were emerging by the mid-15th century,
[4]
mercenary bands were the most frequent military units in Italian warfare. The papacy, in fact, was the main employer of these mercenaries.
[5]
5. Individual soldiers. Rank and file: These usually consisted of mercenaries with, perhaps, additions from local levies such as the Roman militia.
[1]: On Albornoz’s reign of terror in the Patrimony, see Partner, [CITATION PAGES], and Najemy, 194-95
[2]: Partner, 393
[3]: Najemy, 199
[4]: Najemy, 200
[5]: Caferro, 30
Pope; Cardinals and legates; rectors, counts, and dukes; the papal curia; senators of Rome; castellans, village leaders, and provincial officials
1. Pope: The pope remained the head of a vast bureaucracy and leader of the papal state, despite ongoing weakness on the ground during the fifteenth century. Some popes, however, such as John XXIII and Julius II, were effective administrators and military leaders.
2. Cardinals and legates: The cardinalate had increased in number from 24 (the limit set by the Council of Constance, 1414-1418) to 35 by 1500 or so.
[1]
By this period, the cardinals were a fundamental part of papal elections and crucial to the politics of the papal states. Legates-often, themselves, cardinals-handled diplomatic business outside of the papal states. The cardinals’ palaces in Rome were in effect sub-headquarters of the papal bureaucracy.
3. The curia: By the late 14th century, the papal bureaucracy had become a massive, complex machine founded on bribery, the sale of offices, and patronage politics.
[2]
Papal officials operated in Avignon until 1378, returning with the papacy to Rome. During the fifteenth century, the sale of offices within the curia became routinized; Peterson has estimated that under Pope Leo X (1513-1521), two thousand offices were for sale in the city of Rome alone.
[1]
3. Rectors, counts, and dukes: These were the clerical officials sent out by the papacy to the provinces of the Papal State, or secular lords appointed as signori (lords) of regions of the State.
[3]
During the Great Schism, the signori were functionally independent of any higher authority.
[4]
Senators of Rome: It is unclear whether this was a continuous office, or a ceremonial appointment for distinguished foreigners influential in papal politics.
4. Castellans, village leaders: I use this category to denote minor officials in the provinces of the papal states, who often were appointed locally.
_Provincial_
SignoriePartner has characterized the situation in the Papal State during the fifteenth century thus: "It remained true [in the mid-15th century] that the Papal State was divided into war-like little signorie to an extent unknown in any other region of Italy."
[5]
These lordships relied on utilizing their male subjects as mercenary troops, as the Malatesta of Urbino. The popes could occasionally intervene against these petty lords, but the Papal State would not attain internal cohesion and administration (to a limited extent) until the sixteenth century. Despite this internal weakness, the papacy was strong enough that the Papal State was one of the five guarantor powers of the Peace of Lodi (1454), which established an unprecedented era of peace and cooperation between the Italian powers (the papacy, Florence, Milan, Venice, and the Kingdom of Naples).
[6]
[1]: Peterson in Najemy, 74
[2]: See Martin in Marino, 34
[3]: Najemy,191
[4]: Najemy, 195
[5]: Partner, 418
[6]: Peterson in Najemy, 72
Although the papal armies contained feudal levies from allies, mercenaries comprised the greater part of most papal armies. These mercenaries, the condottieri, were notorious for changing sides, sometimes on the battlefield. During the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, papal armies were supplemented by French and Spanish troops, following the 1494 invasion of Italy.
From 1378 until the end of the Great Schism in 1417, mercenary warbands, the condottieri, were often in control of the papal states.
[1]
Composed of foreign and Italian mercenaries, these companies refined extortion and betrayal to an art form.
[2]
Some of the most successful of these mercenaries set themselves up as lords (signori) in the Papal State, in particular in the Romagna.
[3]
[1]: Partner, 393: "All real power [in the first two decades of the fifteenth century] rested with the condottieri "
[2]: On the mercenaries and their social and demographic impact on the Senese, bordering the Papal State, see Caferro.
[3]: Larner remains the only study of these lords of the Romagna
Although the papal armies during this period were usually under the overall command of papal rectors or legates, battlefield command was usually done by professionals, the condottieri: "...the Papal State [in 1378-80] was ruled by French officials and bishops and served largely by German mercenaries...." [1] Scions of the Roman baronial families were active on both sides in the Italian Wars. [2]
[1]: Partner, 340.
[2]: Mallett & Shaw, 76-77
I count here papal fortified enclaves (such as Castel Sant’Angelo) and palaces as specialized government buildings.
Patron-clientele networks, nepotism, and political considerations played a major role in advancement, yet merit was still a factor in the government of the Papal States; this was usually the determining criterion in the case of non-Italian bureaucrats and administrators, such as Cardinal Albornoz. [1] The code should be bracketed in the future, to reflect the existence of merit promotion within a general system in which nepotism and cronyism were the norm.
[1]: On nepotism and cronyism in the Renaissance papacy, see Partner and Peterson in Najemy, 74
The bureaucracy was composed largely of men who had purchased their offices, or procured them through nepotism and cronyism, but they served full time.
Italy in general was, during this period, probably the most economically sophisticated part of Europe, and markets were to be found in all major cities of the Papal States and most of the towns, villages, and even small hamlets. [1]
[1]: While it is concerned primarily with Florence, Goldthwaite, Economy, is a good introduction to the Italian economic situation in the late medieval and early modern periods.
Commercialization of rural hinterland began 1050-1100 CE. "This was the date of similar signs of agrarian development in eastern Lombardy, too, the hinterlands of Bergamo, Brescia, and Cremona. Here, François Menant points to the late eleventh and twelfth centuries as the moment of take-off for systematic irrigation, the development of vineyards on cleared land, the development of transhumant pastoralism, and, later in the twelfth century in the Cremonese, linen." [1]
[1]: (Wickham 2015, 107-108) Wickham, C. 2015. Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900-1150. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Domuscultae from the eighth century was excavated and showed "a church and a substantial set of outbuildings, presumably largely for the storage of products." [1] "Rome, always a large city, needed to be fed, principally with grain; and it was fed from its hinterland from the eighth century at the latest into the late Middle Ages." [2]
[1]: (Wickham 2015, 80) Wickham, C. 2015. Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900-1150. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Wickham 2015, 36) Wickham, C. 2015. Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900-1150. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
The papacy restored and maintained aqueducts (from c800), among other buildings, which at the time "certainly attest to the very great wealth of the papacy in the early Carolingian period, and to the preparedness of popes to spend that wealth very ambitiously." [1] Inferred present on basis some Roman aqueducts maintained until early modern period.
[1]: (Wickham 2015, 155) Wickham, C. 2015. Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900-1150. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
The Roman road network was still in use, with some upkeep carried out by the papacy.
"Ripa was the name of the Tiber port area; to be exact, the east side was the Ripa Graeca, called Marmorata at its southern end under the Aventino, and the west side, in Trastevere, was the Ripa Romea." [1]
[1]: (Wickham 2015, 127) Wickham, C. 2015. Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900-1150. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
There is no mention of the papacy or other powers undertaking canal works during this period; Roman-era canals had, by this point, most likely silted up.
The papacy was responsible, through the Roman city government, for maintaining the bridges over the Tiber.
Written records of all kinds were employed during this period. Examples include the documents produced by the Council of Constance (1418) from early in the period, and the writings of Guicciardini and Machiavelli from the end of the period.
The Latin alphabet was the standard script, although Greek became increasingly popular as a subject of study among the humanists.
Written records of all kinds were employed during this period. Examples include the documents produced by the Council of Constance (1418) from early in the period, and the writings of Guicciardini and Machiavelli from the end of the period.
use of mnemonic devices in Latin instruction in the late Middle Ages.
Nicola Cusano’s writings on mathematics and astronomy are examples of scientific literature.
The Bible remained the fundamental Christian sacred text.
Machiavelli’s Art of War is an example of military literature.
The writings of Baldassare Castiglione on metaphysics are an example of philosophy from the period.
Catasti (population lists) were compiled in the Papal State for taxation purposes from the early 16th century.
Guicciardini and Machiavelli’s contemporary histories of Italy, although written by Tuscans, circulated widely in Italy.
An example is the fortress-basilica of Loreto, erected over the course of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The basilica to the Holy House of Loreto was surrounded by a modern fortress with artillery embankments and watchtowers.
General reference for the time period in Europe: tents were the form of accommodation for wealthier traveling soldiers. At least from the 13th century the tents of nobles were huge, showy constructions. [1] "The old Roman practice of preparing a fortified camp at the end of each day’s march did not survive the empire’s fall, though the practice was revived in one form or another in some fifteenth-century armies, often using specially made wagons to make temporary ramparts." [2] Crusades historian Guibert of Nogent (d. 1124 CE) said the Roman-type camp did not exist. [2] General reference for the time period in Europe: palisade and ditch were sometimes used for long stays or when night attack feared. Watchmen and guard patrols were commonly used. [3]
[1]: (Rogers 2007, 34) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
[2]: (Rogers 2007, 81) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
[3]: (Rogers 2007, 82) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
Guns cast in bronze, then by mid-fifteenth century cannons made of cast iron, with other cast iron objects becoming common. Move from the bloomery process to forging; “Italy and France were also in the forefront of improvements in iron manufacture.” Increased demand for iron and steel from rising nation states in late 15th century. (164-65) [1]
[1]: Hodgett, J. and Augustus, G. 2005. A Social and Economic History of Medieval Europe. Taylor & Francis.
Bronze sculptures held important significance in this period as a link with rulership; “contemporary rulers could associate themselves with their predecessors through the commissioning of bronze objects.” (11) [1]
[1]: Weinryb, I. 2016. The Bronze Object in the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press.
Catapults, even if they no longer could bring down walls, could still be used to throw fire, diseased men or animals over walls. Don’t have access to enough of the following reference to know if the Papal States did this but certainly the technology was still available for use in some offensive capacity. [1]
[1]: Michael Mallett (2009) Mercenaries and their Masters: Warfare in Renaissance Italy. Pen & Sword Military. Barnsley.
Handheld firearms became a major part of European warfare during this period. The battle of Pavia (1525) proved the value of arquebusiers, and firearms dominated European warfare from thereon, although Charles VIII had used mobile artillery in his initial (1494-1498) invasion of Italy. [1] Papal States 1450s CE: "the large scale introduction of hand firearms. The earliest hand firearm was the schioppetto or hand-gun, and the introduction of these has been postulated as earl as the late thirteenth century. By the second half of the fourteenth century there is a good deal of sporadic evidence of their use but almost entirely in the defence of towns. The primitive hand-gun was three or four feet long, rather cumbersome and shapeless and had to be fired with a match. ... by the 1430’s there was growing evidence of groups of specialist hand-gun men in the field armies. ... appeared in the papal army from at least the mid-1450’s." [2] The arquebus was introduced in the late 15th CE. [2]
[1]: Mallett and Shaw, 152
[2]: Michael Mallett (2009) Mercenaries and their Masters: Warfare in Renaissance Italy. Pen & Sword Military. Barnsley.
”The exact moment of their invention is till a matter of dispute, but throughout the fourteenth century there is plenty of evidence of their use in Italy. Florence was already making cannon which fired iron balls in 1326, and the papal army in the fourteenth century was one of the best equipped in this respect." [1]
[1]: Michael Mallett (2009) Mercenaries and their Masters: Warfare in Renaissance Italy. Pen & Sword Military. Barnsley.
The Papal States often used foreign mercenaries who may have had access to the crossbow. Certainly being used in the 15th CE (inferred for this time?): “In the Papal States Spoleto had developed a considerable arms industry and supplied crossbow bolts, shields and lances to the army.” [1]
[1]: Michael Mallett (2009) Mercenaries and their Masters: Warfare in Renaissance Italy. Pen & Sword Military. Barnsley.
Mace, club and flail common after 1300 CE. [1] The Papal State often used French mercenaries. General reference for this time period in Europe: other weapons included mace, war hammer, dagger, poleaxe and axe. [2]
[1]: (Boulton 1995, 124-127)
[2]: (Rogers 2007, 32) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
General reference for this time period in Europe: mounted cavalry used lance and sword. The sword was the primary weapon of the man-at-arms. [1] The Papal State often used French mercenaries.
[1]: (Rogers 2007, 32) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
Early 13th century Brabancon mercenaries from modern Brabant, Belgium fought with pikes or long spears. [1] General reference for this time period in Europe: mounted cavalry used lance and sword. [2] The Papal State often used French mercenaries.
[1]: (Nicolle 1991, 10)
[2]: (Rogers 2007, 32) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
War horses were exported from Italy. [1] By c1100 CE the mounted warrior was typically required to own at least three horses (and very high status individuals might need more) - a specialist fighting horse, a riding horse and a pack horse. [2]
[1]: (Spufford 2006, 156, 167)
[2]: (Rogers 2007, 33) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
Wardogs were used by the Spanish against native tribes during the conquest of the Americas.
General reference for this time period in Europe: shields were often leather covered wood (pine or linden) or leather-canvas-wood. Smaller for cavalry, all shields gradually decreased in size across the period. By the fifteenth century men-at-arms often did not use the shield. [1]
[1]: (Rogers 2007, 32) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
General reference for this time period in Europe: by end of fourteenth century complete suits of plate armour were being used. With time the metal composition was improved from iron, eventually to high quality steel. [1]
[1]: (Rogers 2007, 31) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
General reference for this time period in Europe: from the early 13th century CE poleyns and couters became commonly used to protect knees and elbows. There also were greaves and vambraces (forearms). [1]
[1]: (Rogers 2007, 31) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
General reference for this time period in Europe: cuir-bouillio armour was made by boiling leather in wax. [1] General reference for this time period in Europe: all types of armour were worn with padding e.g. the aketon quilted tunic, which were reasonably functional armour in their own right. [1]
[1]: (Rogers 2007, 31) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.
General reference for this time period in Europe: in the fourteenth century (next period) a ’coat of plates’ like the roman lorica segmentata was worn over the mail hauberk. [1]
[1]: (Rogers 2007, 31) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.