03428nam a22004453i 4500 22062049 20250607105744.0 m |o d | cr ||||||||||| 210525s1430 xx |||||o|||||||| ||ger 22062049 0 ibc orignew u ncip 20 y-gencatlg LCAP batch update 2025-06-02-04:00: LCAPM-988 2021668178 (WDL)18408 DLC eng DLC ger lat 623 940 The Bellifortis (Strong in War). Bellifortis [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1430. 1 online resource. text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Title devised, in English, by Library staff. "BSB Shelfmark: Clm 30150"--Note extracted from World Digital Library. Original resource extent: 150 folios, paper : illustrated ; 30 x 22 centimeters. Many high- and late-medieval manuscripts about technology exist. Most, however, present only the texts without any illustrations. The Bellifortis (Strong in war), in contrast, is the first fully illustrated manual of military technology, dating from the start of the 15th century. It was produced by a person whose name has been passed down to us: Konrad, or Conradus, Kyeser, a native of Eichstätt (Bavaria, Germany). He wrote his treatise between 1402 and 1405, when he was exiled from Prague. At first glance, its content, written in Latin and amounting to a total of nearly 180 images, seems to belong to a clearly-defined topic: warfare. Among the military devices discussed are, not surprisingly, trebuchets, battering rams, movable portable bridges, cannons, rockets, chariots, ships, mills, scaling ladders, incendiary devices, crossbows, and instruments of torture-some rather modern at the time and others that had been well-known since antiquity. But the treatise also describes a sauna, an air mattress, and a chastity belt, items that really do not fit the warlike image. This variety of content makes the Bellifortis so interesting. Kyeser's texts are somewhat difficult to understand and to translate, as the technical terms and his astrological allusions cannot always be deciphered. The Bellifortis is also relevant as a monument of the history of science, for it contains the first-known medieval depiction of the Archimedes screw and the earliest drawing of the above-mentioned chastity belt. Because of its manifest importance, this manuscript copy, produced around 1430, was acquired by the Bavarian State Library in 1998 with generous financial assistance of both Bavarian and German cultural institutions. Original resource at: Bavarian State Library. Content in German and Latin. Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions. 1402 to 1405 Artillery (Weaponry) Hardware Machinery Mechanical engineering Science, Medieval Weapons Kyeser, Conrad, 1366-approximately 1405 Creator. Germany gdcwdl wdl_18408 https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.wdl/wdl.18408 wdl/wdlpartner/wdlbavsb s-Online Electronic Resource