3 Review(s)

Jacob de Gheyn's 'Exercise of Armes' was an immense success when first published in 1607. It is a fascinating seventeeth-century military manual, designed to instruct scontemporary 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 drill 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.