The complete soldier : : military books and military culture in early Stuart England, 1603-1645 / / by David R. Lawrence.

• Author: Lawrence, David R., 1962-
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2009.
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Series: History of Warfare 53.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (464 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

The period 1603-1645 witnessed the publication of more than ninety books, manuals, and broadsheets dedicated to educating Englishmen in the military arts. Written with the intention of creating the “complete soldier”, this didactic literature provided gentlemen with the requisite knowledge to engage in infantry, cavalry, and siege warfare. Drawing on military history and book history, this is the first detailed study of the impact of military books on military practice in Jacobean and Caroline England. Putting military books firmly in the hands of soldiers, this work examines the circles that purchased and debated new titles, the veterans who authored them, and their influence on military thought and training in the years leading up to the English Civil War.

Table of Contents

Preliminary material / D.R. Lawrence -- Introduction / D.R. Lawrence -- Chapter One. “Caesar to this present day of King James”: Military books and military culture, 1572–1603 / D.R. Lawrence -- Chapter Two. “Companions of martiall noblenesse”: Military circles and books in early Stuart England / D.R. Lawrence -- Chapter Three. “Practice put in press”: The evolution of the english drill manual / D.R. Lawrence -- Chapter Four. “A few men rightly instructed to manage armes”: The analytical treatise and infantry warfare / D.R. Lawrence -- Chapter Five. “There is great need for reformation”: Military books and mounted warfare / D.R. Lawrence -- Chapter Six. “Necessary bulwarks”: Siegecraft treatises in early Stuart England / D.R. Lawrence -- Conclusion / D.R. Lawrence -- Appendix . Military books printed in english, 1603–1645 / D.R. Lawrence -- Selected bibliography / D.R. Lawrence -- Index / D.R. Lawrence -- History of warfare / D.R. Lawrence.