EarlyCannonDeNobilitatibusSapientiiEtPrudentiisRegumManuscriptWalterdeMilemete1326

Walter de Milemete was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

who in his early twenties was commissioned by Queen

Isabella of France Isabella of France ( – 22 August 1358), sometimes described as the She-Wolf of France (), was Queen of England as the wife of King Edward II, and regent of England from 1327 until 1330. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving ...

to write a treatise on kingship for her son, the young prince Edward, later king

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

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". Descripti ...

''. 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 An Incendiary kite(also Firebomb kite, flaming kite, Fire Kite) is a kite with a bomb, incendiary device, or Molotov cocktail attached. Historical use Kites were first used in warfare by the Chinese.

laden black-powder filled firebomb over the wall of city.Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age, from Antiquity Through the First World War
Richard Hallion, pages 9-10

References

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

See also

References