The long climb out of the dark ages brings to Europe the genesis of what would become all that we consider “normal” life.
Early Renaissance
Time Frame – 1350 to 1520
Politics/Economics –
Central authority begins to consolidate. The layered feudalism of the past is too cumbersome for the expanded economic opportunities made available through trade and goods from Asia, Africa, the Middle East—and later the Americas. As economic power centralizes, the influence of regional lords wanes and the power of the crown grows, and we begin to see the building blocks of what would become truly powerful kingships.
New manufacturing and trade centers within Europe, combined with periodic drops in population due to plague, raise the value of the individual worker. Wages triple, and large numbers of workers leave traditional agricultural employment for the higher pay of early “factory” jobs. City populations swell, as does their economic power. Increasingly, the middle-class burgomasters of large townships wield more effective political power than a county lord.
Although the crusades began as an effort to subjugate the “infidel” and increase the power of Christianity, they ultimately accelerated and re-channeled trade routes into Asia and the Ottoman Empire, bringing in not only goods but also knowledge in science, engineering, and philosophy long lost to Western Europe. This transfer of knowledge is further spurred by the relocation of Greek scholars from the declining Byzantine Empire to the wealthy urban centers of Italy. These parallel influences lead to a sudden flourishing in the learning and emulation of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy.
You can squint and see the first glimmers of youth culture. All things “old” are viewed with distrust; only new thoughts seem to have value. Ironically, “new” means adapting ancient Greek philosophy and turning away from strict deference to church teaching. Knowledge becomes something that can be found by individual intellectual pursuit. But the period is also marked by a harsher body of critical thought, with each wave of plague and each defeat at crusade further eroding faith in an ordered world. Philosophy and art look to find a grand balance outside the rigid framework set forth by the Vatican.
Into this ferment comes the great spiritual upheaval of the Reformation. What began as theological protest soon became a revolution in thought. By challenging the Church’s monopoly on interpretation and forgiveness, reformers such as Luther and Calvin placed moral authority within the reach of every literate man and woman. The printing press spread these ideas like wildfire, and the old unity of Christendom fractured. Faith became personal; scripture became vernacular; and Europe discovered that the conscience of the individual could stand in judgment of kings and popes alike. The intellectual independence of the mind that humanism had begun, Protestantism carried into the realm of the soul.
Fashion/Manners –
With a higher standard of living and a wider variety of fabrics and colors available, personal expression in attire is highly valued. The heaviness and sense of protection from nature suggested in Gothic clothing give way to apparel more open and relaxed, evocative of a person far more comfortable in the natural world. It is a look and attitude far less fearful of the universe.
With looser and showier clothing come manners more open and relaxed. There are no prescribed gestures or poses, but rather an easy yet proud carriage, legs generally turned out but no longer excessively so. A lightness of bearing is cultivated, distinctly different from the medieval stalwart stance—the look should imply one is ready to spring at a moment to fight or dance. The bow in greeting is now reserved for formal occasions and is performed with the back leg remaining straight, the front leg stepping forward slightly and bending at the knee (think of a very small fencer’s lunge). Notice how this movement naturally opens the chest and gently propels the person forward, rather than shrinking away in fear. When not worn, the hat is generally held in front of the body, but not stiffly—the hand relaxed, as though the hat were altogether forgotten by the owner. Between friends, the bow is often eliminated as too pretentious; friends, male or female, simply join in a heartfelt handclasp.
Just as art seeks balance, so does the concept of the ideal man. A gentleman of position is expected to be not only proficient in the practice of arms, but also familiar with learning, languages, philosophy, and art.
Civilian Conflict –
With the exception of some larger daggers that Italians and Germans begin wearing, there are no substantive changes in how civilian disputes are settled. However, with the breakdown of ecclesiastic and manorial authority, the number of private disputes increases in many nations. In Italy especially, when a crime is committed by one individual the entire family may be considered guilty, often leading to never-ending reprisals and counter-reprisals.
Although many Elizabethan and later plays set in this earlier period use civilian rapier fights, the weapon has not yet been invented. Civilian disputes are settled by knife, cudgel, or fist.
Warfare –
Edged weapons on the battlefield are the same in basic layout as in the Gothic period, although the variety expands to fit different tactical uses. Steel becomes cheaper and, with the slow diffusion of technical knowledge from Moorish cultures, far stronger swords are available.
Continuing the trend of the earlier medieval period, large numbers of mercenary companies are routinely used for war. What is new is that these units augment newly created and effective native infantry. For the first time since the ancient Greeks, large numbers of regular foot soldiers receive specific training in the use of their polearms and are given primary rather than tertiary tactical assignments. Acting as disciplined units, lines of spear or halberd can take the field and nullify a mounted cavalry charge. To aid in that task, infantry are given specific weapons for the job. Instead of outfitting them as “light-knights,” their weapons are based on agricultural implements they already know, refined for the battleground.
When these units take the field (first the Swiss, then the Germans, then the rest of Europe) they become an even match for cavalry. Combined with equally disciplined contingents of archers or crossbowmen, they are unbeatable. Here—more than in early gunpowder—begins the mounted knight’s inexorable decline. Unable to defeat infantry in head-on assault, and with mobility limited by disciplined archery, cavalry lose their battlefield dominance.
Weapons Available: Every type of polearm, mace, axe, and straight-edged battle sword—both single- and double-handed—is now seen on European battlefields.
Mannerist Renaissance
Time Frame – 1520–1620
Politics/Economics –
A period of turmoil whose conflicts trigger some of Europe’s largest transformations. The earlier Renaissance is a great flowering, a liberation of expression, but not yet a radical change in thought. That change arrives now, in what we call the Elizabethan era.
Overall standards of living rise with the influx of gold and silver from the Americas. This, along with dramatic increases in population size and mobility, shifts the continent away from barter toward a fully monetary economy. With that come independent and trusted banks and exchange houses. The liberalizing of thought allowed by the Renaissance and the weakening of Catholic power after the waves of plague lead directly to what will become generically known as Protestantism. First promulgated by Martin Luther as a challenge within the Church, it divides Europe politically and dynastically. When a newly powerful Habsburg Germany (under Charles V) allows its troops to sack Rome, it not only strengthens Protestantism but brings the Italian Renaissance to an end. The “accidental Protestantism” of Henry VIII and the creation of the Church of England draw Great Britain into the center of the conflict—both domestically, in bloody civil wars, and internationally, in intrigues.
Just as at the beginning of the Renaissance, there is a further shift in societal outlook—but now it continues past criticism to pessimism. There is a general return to superstitious thought and violent reaction against the unknown. This spurs the power of the Inquisition and ushers in a climate of fear. With fear comes violence and repression, both from Catholic inquisitions and Puritan purges.
I must mention one fellow who writes a couple of plays during this period. You may have heard of him. His name is Shakespeare (or Shaksper, or Shaxpere, Shakespere, or Shakspere). You are likely reading this section because you have one of his plays coming up. How does he fit?
It has been said many times that Shakespeare straddled both worlds, medieval and modern. Cliché or not, it is dauntingly true. In his time he is, in some ways, a holdout of conservative thought. As a successful playwright who wishes to remain successful, he plays both to the house and the authorities who can shut the theatre down. Throughout his plays he accepts the divine right of kings and shows the tragedies that spring from usurping a legitimate ruler from the seat of power. He must have read the latest scientific studies of the prior fifty years, yet he writes of a universe with Earth at its center, of bodies regulated by humours, of humans born into their natural positions in society. Disrupt the natural order, and calamity follows. And yet…
…he is also undeniably a humanist, whose central characters reason their way through crisis. In Hamlet, others may call him melancholic, but he refuses to be ruled by a humour; he tests ideas—even staging a kind of experiment. In Richard II, whether the king is a poor ruler or unjustly overthrown, Shakespeare’s interest is in watching him deconstruct his rapidly imploding universe. He undergoes a true existential crisis and, by thought alone, finds a new place for himself—and a certain peace—in a world that reduces him to nothing. Every character in every play has a counterpart in the simplistic dramas of medieval Europe, and yet he endows them with an understanding of their own motivations that anticipates psychological realism by centuries.
Fashion/Manners –
It’s not called the Mannerist period for nothing. The free and easy designs and movements of the earlier Renaissance become codified and lose their casual elegance. German and English styles are more restrictive than French or Italian—held back by a late entry to the benefits of the Renaissance—retaining a generally medieval outlook longer than the rest of Europe.
Across Europe, fashion’s hallmarks are exaggeration, ornament without utility, and stylized, almost tortured, three-dimensional embellishment. In a dramatic break from long and loose hair, men cut it much shorter. Stiff, padded, and encased, the body must conform to the style. Dress shoes are soft and heelless; walking slows, with the ball of the foot nearly brushing the ground to keep backless shoes from slipping. Because of the wide (“pumpkin”) breeches, the legs are kept at a medium-wide stance, and movement leads with the hips. No man is considered completely dressed without his rapier. All of this conspires to create a kind of “sailing” gait—a side-to-side push from the hips with each step while keeping the torso level. When sitting, one perches on the seat’s edge, feet side by side (not crossed nor wide apart). The rapier hilt tilts back so the scabbard’s tip points forward, to prevent others from tripping. Small wonder many men take general movement lessons from fencing masters.
Etiquette for greeting becomes formalized. Gloves are kept on indoors and removed when offering a hand to a woman. To “make a leg,” the feet turn outward slightly and the weight shifts to the right leg. The left leg moves back, the left knee turned out even more. Keeping the back erect, both knees bend, balance centered between them. In an extreme bow, the left knee almost touches the floor. On rising, the weight returns to the right foot. This is not a waist bow; the tight doublet forbids a graceful bend. The stiff ruff can prevent much head inclination, but the chin and gaze should lower submissively if possible. The hat is removed and allowed to sweep humbly to the side.
Civilian Conflict –
To the consternation of many directors setting Shakespeare in his own time, certain props simply do not exist in 16th-century civilian life. There is no real pistol culture outside the army. Wheel-lock firearms do exist, and a few wealthy men own them, but they are costly, temperamental, and built on military designs—heavy cavalry pistols rather than sporting arms. Hunting for deer or boar is done with bow and lance, and bird hunting with light crossbows firing blunted bolts to knock prey from the sky. Even the smallest pistols are unwieldy, considered cowardly, and meant for horseback use, not street encounters. If someone threatens another in the street, it is with the rapier.
Around 1530, the invention (and spread) of the rapier allows any man to walk the streets armed with a sword. Lighter than battle swords, it does not pull down at the hip, so one can wear it all day. It is a cut-and-thrust weapon—doing neither perfectly but capable of great damage without requiring massive upper-body strength. The English have a love-hate relationship with it: the stout English broadsword is “more honorable,” yet far less portable. They know the rapier is not only a badge of status and style but an extraordinary weapon against a street attack. It is relatively expensive, so a common highwayman is unlikely to have one; yet it is not restricted to the knightly class. The fighting style assumes a secondary weapon in the off-hand to knock down an opponent’s blade and open a line for your thrust or cut. With so many now armed, innumerable fencing schools pop up; where rapiers flourish, so do masters charging for lessons.
It is considered sneaky and deceitful—underhanded thrusts, tip feints, evasions. No small wonder some English want the rapier eradicated as “useless in war, and killing our youth in peace.” Nationalism plays a part (many swordmasters are Italian or French). Traditional English weapons—sword and buckler, cudgel, quarterstaff—might break an arm or crack a head; the rapier impales, leading to blood loss and, often, horrific infection.
Since the rapier can be deadly, not everyone is keen to fight. What later gets called a “code of duello” is, in this century, a tangle of regional customs of honor—invoked when useful, ignored when not. Commonly accepted reasons for a challenge include insults to honor (accusations of cowardice or dishonesty), defamation, serious disputes over property or money, long-standing vendettas, generalized threats to reputation, and challenges to martial skill. Authorities alternately tolerate or punish duels by time and region.
“Giving someone the lie” (charging someone with deliberate deceit) is the most common grievance—often answered by counter-charges and much diplomatic maneuvering to avoid confrontation. A private apology sent by courier can prevent bloodshed.
Because owning a rapier implies training (and disposable income), formal challenges are generally among the middle and upper classes. Using a sword against a servingman, no matter the insult, is a breach of civil propriety and legally murder. Beating a lower-class person with a stick—or the flat of the sword—is (lamentably) acceptable, so long as there is “justification.”
A duel itself is straightforward. “Seconds” are not yet formalized, but bringing friends to avoid tricks or an ambush is common sense. The danger of being murdered on the way to a duel can be as great as the duel itself. At the ground, the belligerents close distance, draw at pleasure, and begin. There is no sword salute—that is a Victorian sport-fencing invention. If there was any kind of physicality before fighting commences, it is a respectful bow.
The sword is often extended toward the opponent’s face, the left hand extended with dagger. One hand may be high and the other low, or both level. Positions shift while circling. The left, not right, foot is forward—bringing dagger and sword tips to equal distance (though regional schools vary). Among skilled fighters a brief stillness can precede a blur of motion: a parry with the left hand and a finishing thrust with the right—one decisive instant. The samurai would do this with a single katana; the Renaissance fighter diverts with the dagger and thrusts with the rapier.
Historically, most fights end in one or two motions. One can imagine some duels devolving into fearful, out-of-range slashing until both sides agree that honor is served and all go home healthy and happy.
A minor but telling point: the rapier becomes a badge of status. Anyone may wear a sword, but the rapier’s expense and the cost of training associate it with the wealthy—not strictly class-bound in Shakespeare’s time so much as generational, but by the 1620s any man who considers himself a gentleman owns one and often wears it in public. For many, the rapier completes an elegant outfit for ceremonies and entertainments. For those unwilling to spend so much, “dancing swords”—elegant hilts on false (sometimes wooden) blades—can be worn in scabbards and never drawn, sufficient to meet society’s demands. Portraits of the wealthy often include a rapier for the same reason. Dancing swords can even be rented for special occasions, much as tuxedos for weddings and proms. And the best place to rent a dancing sword is from a theatre.
One firm exception: the reigning monarch is always pictured with a sword of war, not a rapier. As a dueling weapon, the rapier decides personal honor; a king is meant to be above such concerns. His sword is for the realm’s defense and for impartial domestic justice.
Warfare –
Military practice continues much as before, but a few important changes emerge—chief among them the introduction of the wheel-lock pistol as a weapon for light cavalry. The new firing mechanism, using a spring-driven steel wheel instead of a burning match, finally allows a mounted soldier to draw, aim, and fire with one hand. For the first time, cavalry can discharge volleys at close range while advancing—the so-called caracole—before wheeling away to reload. The weapon proves useful for ambushes, night raids, and pursuit, when a flash of steel would once have betrayed position. It is, however, expensive, fragile, and slow to reload, so its success is brief. By mid-century most armies return to the sword and lance for decisive cavalry work.
The arquebus remains, but longer, heavier-bore muskets and coordinated volley fire now make firearms tactically meaningful along the infantry line. Swords continue in use as secondary arms; contingents of sword-and-buckler men, lightly armored, fight alongside pikemen or archers to protect them when the fight moves their way.
Cavalier/Baroque
Time Frame – 1600–1730
And here we may make a distinction between the Cavalier (1600-1660) as being The Age of Swagger, and the Baroque (1660- 1730) as being The Age of Ceremony.
Politics/Economics –
The final traces of medieval organization disappear as countries move from feudal monarchies to true nation-states. Instead of a monarchy dependent on layers of nobility for defense and administration, power is centralized: the national government supports a standing army, manages daily administration through its own bureaucracy, and taxes its citizens directly. For the first time the aristocracy is dependent on the king—a true “absolute” monarch. Louis XIV and Richelieu are the masters of this concentration, shifting Europe’s political center from Spain to France for the next two centuries.
With the massive increase in bureaucracy, the actual center of power is now tied to a single regal court in a capital city. Daily affairs of state are far too complicated to move; government functions continue year-round regardless of where the king travels.
Ironically, centralization expands certain citizens’ rights. Previously, commoners needed the local lord’s permission to marry, travel, or set up a business—and standards varied wildly. Once these “liberties” come under central control, nationwide rules are generally more permissive and certainly more efficient. It is a breath of fresh air, lifting some of the dire pessimism of prior decades.
All this coincides with Rome’s struggles over Protestant reform and Copernican astronomy. The Counter-Reformation and the idea of an infinite universe (with us not at its center) produce both an explosion of art and personal expression and the fear that one’s stance may need to change with political winds.
Fashion/Manners –
The early part of this period is “cavalier” (from the French for “horseman”), and with good reason. Even as the warrior on horseback loses importance on the battlefield, his status rises in the public imagination. The male ideal shifts from the royal household courtier in tight court finery to the robust adventurer in clothing ready for any occasion, indoors or out. Movement becomes freer—an athletic swagger. Regular pants, practical boots, comfortable shirts and jackets allow a less restrained manner than the tortured costumes of the Mannerist Elizabethan period. A man now strides into a room confidently. Gloves are worn for most occasions and rarely removed. The courtly bow is freer, performed with abandon. In the Elizabethan bow, the head droops, the shoulders roll, the stomach collapses. Not so here. There is pride even in deference. If anything, the chest puffs and leads the bow; on rising, the back foot comes forward, ending closer to the honored person than when one began. It is meant to be assertive. (Those trained only in Elizabethan bows—what drama schools usually teach—look a bit out of place in cavalier costume. This clothing and these times demand a more forceful style. The earlier bow is submissive; the cavalier bow is impressive.)
Ideally, the lead foot steps boldly forward, toes pointing at the person honored. Then the rear (usually left) foot steps back even more, turned out, the rear knee bending deeply. Add a comfortable bend at the waist and a dramatic sweep back up. The back stays strong and straight—no roll or arch. The hat is doffed with as much elegance and sweep as possible. Personal variation is admired; it demonstrates flair and grace. If circumstances prevent a full step, the limitation rankles as much as being unable to draw one’s sword. Any bow, even small, must be done with brio. The clothing moves majestically if the bow has flair. For these people, everything is athletic, elegant, romantic, powerful—all at once. In other ages the lover, the fighter, and the scholar are different types; not here. Each man is everything, in an instant. The more romantic, the more powerful—the bow’s full sweep declares it. Anything less makes you look like a servant.
The hat returns to the head at the bow’s completion, and it is normal to keep it on in most occasions. With a fine plume, the hat signals a man no longer diminished by the world but ready to expand into it. A man may sit sideways or even backward on a chair—always giving the impression that no chair, room, or world can contain him. If the universe is infinite, so is he.
Not all outward changes are practical. High-topped cavalry boots copy what cavalry soldiers wear to protect legs from pistol shots when riding—hardly comfortable for walking, especially as tops slump toward the calves. But they give a romantic look and swagger, so civilians adopt them. The period revels in extravagance and sensuality, brilliance and exuberance.
Naturally, as the epoch progresses, free cavalier stances become codified Baroque poses. What had been free of affectation becomes strict rules of conduct. In doffing the hat, it is gracefully lifted and swept down to the right side, no longer across the body. A hat once doffed cannot be returned to the head without permission from a superior (and withholding permission is just as serious a breach of protocol). No one keeps the head covered in the king’s presence. Athletic stances regiment into the ballet positions we know today: feet turned out to ninety degrees at every step, the ball landing before the heel. As most men wear heels, each step requires a strong point.
In large social occasions, or when passing people on the street, a bow en passant extends courtesy without stopping. It is a simple bow from the waist while allowing the back foot to drag forward, never breaking stride—performed from left or right, with the nearer foot dragging while bowing that direction. Walking sticks are taller than canes, letting the arm ride near shoulder height and nicely mimicking classical port de bras.
In sitting, the later-century gentleman sits centered—neither on the edge nor fully to the back—appearing to sit regally on a throne. The handkerchief is held between first and second fingers, draping over the back of the hand.
Most movement still blooms with flourish when possible, but a divide appears between those retaining athletic swagger and the fops. Fops exaggerate clothing and movement—small, quick mincing steps and turns to accentuate the bounce of wig and cloth. The more dignified keep movements subtle and deliberate—expansive yet solid, never fussy—heightening the illusion of power and grandeur.
Civilian Conflict – Rapier in Transition
After the 1650s, as men’s fashion calms and ornamentation grows more reserved, the extreme hilt styles of the cavalier period contract. The parts of the hilt remain but project less from the hand. The sword is still a cut-and-thrust weapon and, with or without a parrying off-hand, still in use. But the rapier’s blade lightens, the quillons shrink, and the fighting grows faster with far more emphasis on the thrust. The sword now parries by diverting rather than simply blocking. It is not yet the smallsword, but it is clearly headed there.
Warfare –
This is the age of the “gunpowder revolution,” which sees the final decline of the mounted knight’s battlefield primacy and the elevation—again—of the common foot soldier at the center of military planning.
Up to now, infantry can hold off cavalry by leveling long spears, but that is defensive; going on the offensive is hard. Heavy cavalry charges create openings or attack flanks and rear to disrupt formation.
A smart opposing general uses archers (longbows or crossbows) to fire into approaching cavalry and prevent contact. But longbow archery, while very accurate, requires tremendous strength and constant practice. Crossbows require less strength, but the mechanisms break and the bolts must be crafted by specialists; both suffer from damp bowstrings. Numbers are limited.
By the time Shakespeare retires to Stratford, the first practical firearm for mass production appears. The matchlock musket improves on earlier arquebuses: heavier ball, longer barrel, and coordinated volley fire make it decisive at line range. Still ungainly to load and fire, it is nevertheless light enough for a line of soldiers to load and discharge together—transforming it from mere artillery adjunct to infantry tool. Though expensive, inaccurate, and time-consuming to maintain and load, muskets are easier to repair than bows or crossbows, and lead balls are cheaper than arrows. Armies can muster many more of them.
The style used by musketeers is the quite heavy Spanish matchlock musket (first developed c. 1567), using a lit fuse or “match” to ignite the charge—much like a cannon. Inoperable in the rain, but the match can remain lit if merely damp.
Given inaccuracy, soldiers must fire by line to have any chance of hitting a column—loading and aiming together. Up to thirty motions are required for each shot, and carrying a lit match near powder pouches is undeniably exciting. Officers prefer well-trained, reliable men as musketeers; recruitment among the more educated lesser nobility is common, with year-round garrison or palace guard duties when no standing army exists. Battles are still won or lost by pikemen holding the field; musketeers function as light infantry, protecting pikes from enemy horse.
Even under ideal drill, match technology introduces lag: an order to “fire” produces individual discharges spread over seconds. In damp weather delays commonly range from a fraction of a second to many tens of seconds—conservatively expect some hang-fires of 30–60 seconds. The result is that each musketeer functions as an individual warrior more than an automaton. Fittingly, on parade a lord’s colors may be worn; in the field there are no modern uniforms yet — livery mixes with personal finery.
Muskets are often fired from a forked rest. Stock placement varies—cheek, chest, or shoulder—depending on weapon weight and practice. Reloading can take one to three minutes; if the enemy closes before reloading, last-ditch weapons are sword or pistol (the sword preferred). Pistols are weak enough that heavy leather can deflect a ball—hence the high-topped cavalry boots protecting the legs of light horsemen (horses make bigger targets than riders). Pistols remain largely a light-cavalry arm: ride up, fire, and gallop away.
England adopts continental reforms more slowly—feudal levies linger until the Civil Wars force cash-paid musters and modern organization.