1. Machiavelli's Art of War and 16th Century Military Literature
- Author
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Pretalli, Michel, Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l'Antiquité - UFC (UR 4011) (ISTA), Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC), and Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l'Antiquité - UFC (EA 4011) (ISTA)
- Subjects
[SHS.HISPHILSO]Humanities and Social Sciences/History, Philosophy and Sociology of Sciences ,Military Science ,[SHS.LITT]Humanities and Social Sciences/Literature ,History (General) and history of Europe ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS - Abstract
Machiavelli’s “Art of War” (1521), the first dialogue on this subject written in italian volgare, is considered as one of the most influential works in occidental military culture. Given its author’s calibre, the influence of the “Art of War” on the vast and heterogeneous military literature of the sixteenth century has often been taken for granted even though no concrete evidence has been produced to support such an idea. Starting from the characterization of Machiavelli’s profile – was he a specialist of war? –, this paper is a first attempt to conduct a thorough analysis of the texts in order to identify the common points and the differences between Machiavelli’s dialogue and the military works – especially dialogues – of the following decades, which could reveal the presence or the absence of influence of the former on the latters. A precise setting of the “Art of war” in the military literature of the sixteenth century, considered in its different currents – humanistic, mathematical and practical – will allow a better understanding of Machiavelli’s contribution as well as of the peculiarities of these underestimated texts.
- Published
- 2020
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