Leonardo da Vinci (b. 1452, Vinci, d. 1519)

Leonardo and Warcraft

Leonardo's applications in the field of military engineering were part of an illustrious tradition of science going back to Archimedes and perfectly in line with the Renaissance as Leonardo thus put his ingenuity and knowledge at the service of the lord who commissioned his projects.

The art of war at Leonardo's time consisted mainly of field battles and sieges. Cannons, in particular, were increasingly used. Leonardo's contributions to warfare included both the remodelling of old devices and the invention of new ones.

The principal arms studied and designed by Leonardo included catapults, crossbows and multiple crossbows, mortars and cannons with various types of mountings and cylinders, military wagons and "assault machines" (e.g., moveable bridges and ladders).Catapults, certainly one of the oldest types of ordnance in the history of warfare, were operated by means of springs or twisted cords and used to launch large stones towards the defenders.

The crossbow was a traditional battle weapon used to launch arrows. Leonardo designed various improved forms. The rapid-firing crossbow was linked to a large wheel at whose center was placed a single archer, who had only to take aim and fire (this contraption permitted greater precision and increased velocity). The multiple crossbow was similar to the preceding, except that various crossbows were attached to the wheel and could be fired a single archer. Leonardo also invented a giant crossbow.

Leonardo's inventions in the field of battle wagons were also exceedingly ingenious and include a battle-wagon with rotating scythes, propelled through a series of cogwheels driven by men hidden underneath (the alternative, having the wagons towed by horse, was impracticable, as the animals were likely to panic).Leonardo also designed an assault wagon with cannons, whose outer form resembled an enormous turtle sprouting cannons on all sides. Leonardo's project shows the machine's interior, with four wheels driven by a total of eight men.

Leonardo's achievements in the field of naval warfare included diving apparatus, vessels driven by propellers and boats equipped with mobile battering rams and hooks.

[ Leonardo in Florence ]
[ His Years in Milan ]
[ His Roman Sojourn ]
[ Leonardo in France ]
[ Flight and Freedom ]
[ Leonardo the Engineer ]
...[ The Art of War ]
...[ Leonardo and Water ]
...[ Entertainments ]
...[ Mechanics ]
[ The Portrait of Mona Lisa ]