The Revival of Cavalry in Early Modern European Warfare

Although cavalry – particularly armored men-at-arms – was essentially the dominant arm from the late Roman Empire, during the Renaissance and into the early sixteenth century had had lost its primacy in warfare to the newly revived professional infantry, armed pikes, longbows, and later firearms. In this book, Prof. Chauviré (Rennes 2 University) examines how, from the mid-sixteenth century onward, the mounted arm began to regain an important role on the battlefield with the introduction of new organization, equipment, weapons and tactics, restoring its role as a decisive force, albeit no longer the dominant one.

Chauviré covers a lot of ground, as he looks at developments all across Europe, and gives us looks at a number of innovators, such as Moluc, Henri IV, Gustavus, and Saxe. In the process, he also makes some observations about what things did not change, reminding us that innovation doesn’t always involve total abandonment of prior practice.

A volume in the Helion “Century of the Soldier” series, The New Knights is a valuable read for anyone interested in the evolution of military institutions from the mid-sixteenth century through the onset of the eighteenth, or in the history of mounted troops.

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Note: The New Knights is also available in several e-editions.

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