ABSTRACT
The Italian Wars were fought for the conquest and retention of territory and economic resources, as well as for the prestige and dynastic concerns of rulers and the benefit of ruling elites. There was a transformation of war, partly a matter of the increased numbers involved, partly of a new emphasis on permanence and long service, and partly of the developing role of gunpowder weapons. The traditional weapons of most European infantry were the sword, the foot lance or spear, about nine feet long, and the crossbow, introduced extensively in the thirteenth century. Gunpowder weapons, having developed gradually in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, improved dramatically in the middle years of the fifteenth century. The crux of this was improved and cheaper gunpowder, and the implications were most quickly apparent in the gun foundries and the artillery parks of the French crown.
