Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci[b] (15 April 1452 â 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect. While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he also became known for his notebooks, in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, and paleontology. Leonardo’s genius epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal, and his collective works compose a contribution to later generations of artists matched only by that of his younger contemporary, Michelangelo.
Looking at Leonardoâs War Machines and inventions you would be forgiven for thinking that he was a blood thirsty maniac and possibly even the first James Bond Super villain. He had designs for a Catapult, a giant crossbow, a tank, a steam powered cannon and deviously designed horse powered carts and weapons.
This could not be further from the truth â
Leonardo detested war and harming people and animals in general. He was actually one of the first vegetarians in history, he would often buy birds in the marketplace and set them free after studying their wing structures, he is also quoted as saying â âAs long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other.â
Unfortunately for Leonardo he often had to pander to the levels of his bloodthirsty and power hungry patrons in order to receive work (although Leonardo was famous even during his own lifetime, he was by no means a wealthy man, he also had several apprentices to feed and clothe later on in is life), this would sometimes mean using his outstanding intellect to design machines capable of inflicting damage upon many men .
One of his most fearsome and bloodthirsty patrons was Cesare Borgia. He employed Leonardo as his military architect and engineer for a couple of years during the early 1500s. Leonardoâs War Machines for Cesare Borgia would be both offensive and defensive, from the worldâs first machine gun to huge drawbridges and impenetrable fortresses.
MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY OF ROCHESTER
ROCHESTERMILITARY.COM
