Warfare_During_The_Renaissnce

Warfare During The Renaissnce Warfare During the Renaissance Warfare did not get invented during the Renaissance, but there were some significant innovations. Feudal cavalry lost its strength of the battlefield, infantry gained in stature, states learned how to field large armies for long periods of time. Most important of all, however, was the use of gunpowder. The chief result of these innovations was that warfare once and for all was taken out of the hands of private individuals (the nobility) and was taken over by the nation-state. Moreover, war became so expensive and destructive that it became ever more difficult and dangerous for small states to wage war, even at the local level. Warfare became big business and the business of big players. Decline of feudal Cavalry Up until the 14th century, the battlefield belonged to the medieval knight. The knight of 1300 was well armored. Plate mail was still in the future, but armor had developed to the point where most of a knight was covered in metal, and even his horse wore padded armor. The knight was adept at the use of the lance, the sword and the shield, and was every bit as effective on foot as he was on horseback. What happened warfare, swiss, field, century, artillery, english, cannons, became, battlefield, pikemen, longbow, long, gunpowder, even, cavalry, armor, armies, war, out, knight, handguns, fire, effective, castles, time, smaller, small, required, pike, people, once, nobility, nation-state, much, little