Book Reviews

Artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy, 1363-1477,
by Robert Douglas Smith and Kelly DeVries. Armour and Weapons Series, volume I. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK, 2005. ISBN 1 84383 162 7. 377pp.; 7” x 9 7/8”; b&w photos and drawings; hrdbnd. $85. In the United States order through Boydell Press, 668 Mount Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620-2731 (www.boydellandbrewer.com).  Those who mention this review and the code $06002 will receive a 25% discount. Secure orders can be placed via www.boydell.co.uk/sous.htm or by phone or mail.

One of the more interesting areas of medieval history concerns the introduction of gunpowder weaponry into European warfare. The title under review, the first in Boydell’s new “Armour and Weapons” series, examines one aspect of this, the artillery of the dukes of Burgundy from the mid-14th century into the last quarter of the 15th. These rulers fielded one of the most powerful armies of the day, equipped with state of the art equipment and weapons which included a wide range of field guns.

Using period documents and archival transcriptions (especially Joseph Garnier’s very rare nineteenth century French-language work, L’artillerie des ducs de Bourgogne d’après des documents conserves aux archives de la Côte-d’Or) and studying the two dozen known surviving examples of ordnance, the authors have produced a most important study. The first two chapters comprise a general survey of the gunpowder weaponry in use in Europe during the period under examination as well as surveys of the military organization and campaigns of the Burgundian dukes, ranging from Philip the Bold to Charles the Bold, killed fighting the Swiss in 1477. The third chapter is an important analysis of the period documentation concerning the types of weapons fielded by the Burgundians. This is particularly valuable, as it brings together for the first time, a wide range of source materials, much of which was previously unpublished or nearly impossible to find.

For the student of arms, chapter 4 will be the most interesting. This is the catalogue of the surviving examples of guns, the majority of which are war trophies from the famous Die Burgundebeute (“the Burgundian Booty”) preserved in Swiss public collections. The chapter also presents many new insights regarding period artillery terminology and the identification of particular weapons. Each of the preserved guns is fully described in detail, and accompanied by black and white photographs and line drawings. A short section of the authors’ conclusions is followed by the end matter, comprised of six very interesting and informative appendices on artillery-related topics, an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary source works, and an index.

While it is not inexpensive, this book is a “must have” for the student of early artillery, the Burgundian Wars, and late medieval military history, containing in one very readable package much information and new findings not available elsewhere.