Books by Jonathan Davies

Between 1494-1628 guns and their carriages underwent such a major transformation that they would remain virtually unchanged for over three centuries. This book is a practical and comprehensive guide to the development and manufacture as well as the use of artillery, drawing heavily on primary sources as well as the recent reconstructions.

The first illustration of a cannon in Europe can be dated quite precisely to 1326. This book explores the development of gunpowder, the earliest appearance of cast-bronze cannon in Western Europe, followed by the design and development of the wrought-iron cannon. The wrought-iron hoop-and-stave method of barrel construction was a system that came to dominate medieval artillery design both large and small until the end of the 15th century, and saw the cannon used not only as a prestige weapon, but start to be used as a practical and terrifying weapon on the medieval battlefield. In 1453, the Ottomans'' conquest of Constantinople, with their extensive artillery, marked the triumph of medieval firepower.The book will focus on the technology and tactics of early European artillery on both sea and land, and assess its impact on medieval warfare.