Skip to main content

IMC 2010: Sessions

Session 823: Mission Unaccomplished: Interrupted Military Travel and its Consequences in Late Medieval Warfare

Tuesday 13 July 2010, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:Université de Fribourg / Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Organiser:Klara Hübner, SNSF 'Bündnis, Stadt & Staat', Université de Fribourg
Moderator/Chair:Klara Hübner, SNSF 'Bündnis, Stadt & Staat', Université de Fribourg
Paper 823-aGo in and Win?: Considerations on Stopping in Late Medieval Campaigns
(Language: English)
Heinrich Speich, SNSF 'Bündnis, Stadt & Staat', Université de Fribourg
Index terms: Military History, Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 823-bTo Be out on Spying: Espionage during the Burgundian Wars (1474-1477)
(Language: English)
Bastian Walter, Historisches Seminar, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster
Index terms: Administration, Military History, Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 823-cWar against Messengers: The Information Challenge of Swiss Confederate Warfare during the Campaigns in Northern Italy (1490-1525)
(Language: English)
Klara Hübner, SNSF 'Bündnis, Stadt & Staat', Université de Fribourg
Index terms: Administration, Military History, Politics and Diplomacy
Abstract

During the late Middle Ages, roads, their infrastructure and users became an essential part of military strategy. Special attention was made to people travelling for purposes of war: spies gathering information in cities and taverns along the road, messengers relating news on the whereabouts and activities of troops, or squads marching to their meeting points. But what happened when the roads were, for whatever reason, closed and the movements of these military travellers were constrained? Using examples from southern German and Swiss towns, this section aims at accentuating the political and military effects of such encumbered military travel.