Walter De Millimete on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Walter de Milemete was an English scholar who in his early twenties was commissioned by Queen Isabella of France to write a treatise on kingship for her son, the young prince Edward, later king Edward III of England called ''De nobilitatibus, sapientiis, et prudentiis regum'' in 1326. The Treatise includes images of siege weapons and what is probably the first illustration of a firearm: a ''Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age, from Antiquity Through the First World War
Richard Hallion, pages 9-10
Walter de Milemete was an English scholar who in his early twenties was commissioned by Queen Isabella of France to write a treatise on kingship for her son, the young prince Edward, later king Edward III of England called ''De nobilitatibus, sapientiis, et prudentiis regum'' in 1326. The Treatise includes images of siege weapons and what is probably the first illustration of a firearm: a ''pot-de-fer
The ''pot-de-fer'' was a primitive cannon made of iron. It was used by the French in the Hundred Years' War. The name means "iron pot" in French. In Italy, ''pots-de-fer'' were known as ''vasi'' or ''vasii'', meaning "pot" or "vase".
Descript ...
''. One of the marginal border illustrations in the Milemete Treatise shows a soldier firing a large vase-shaped cannon, the arrow-shaped projectile is seen projecting from the cannon which is pointed at a fortification. In the 1331 siege of Cividale
Cividale del Friuli ( fur, Cividât (locally ); german: Östrich; sl, Čedad) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Udine, part of the Northern Italy, North-Italian Friuli Venezia Giulia ''regione''. The town lies above sea-level in the foo ...
, German knights used guns which were probably very similar to Milemete weapons.
The treatise includes an illustration of St. George giving Prince Edward a shield decorated with coat of arms. The manuscript, in a red velvet binding, is now held by the library of Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
. The treatise also depicts a group of knights flying a firebomb kite laden black-powder filled firebomb over the wall of city.Richard Hallion, pages 9-10
See also
* History of firearms * History of artillery * History of gunpowderReferences
14th-century English people English military writers Siege warfare Warfare of the Middle Ages Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown {{England-writer-stub