A Library of Military Manuals

Below is a chronological index of known 17th century military manuals sourced from the historical interpreter community as well as bibliographical listings. The links are direct to versions of digital scans of each work.

The list is not as of yet complete, and some known manuals are not listed for want of digital copies.

Example Format:
YEAR-S MILITARY MANUAL TITLE

Link to version 1
Link to version 2 (different scan, later version or related text)

16 century manuals were far more concentrated on military theory, orders of troops, shapes of formation etc than with instructions for individual soldiers. De Ghyen’s first manual, The Exercise of Arms was a landmark commission by the Prince of Orange in Holland, quickly translated and distributed to the English and French, but it was bulky, lengthy, and the detailed illustrations made it exorbitantly expensive by comparison. Armies across Europe loved and hated the field purposed but inconveniently heavy and easily knocked about manual that was also meant to be carried in the field. By the 1620’s and 30’s manuals of instruction with many illustrations per page were made, some also illustrated by De Ghyen. Even lower cost additions of these books however, were distributed without the illustrations. Eventually, easier to read, cheaper to print “Abridgements” were the norm for the field.

For the English, the age of exploration also meant the age military conquest and military defense. Conflicts with native populations in the Americas and India, as well as Catholics nations and their armies, especially the Spanish and Irish, and even the English themselves necessitated a large quantity of manuals. The first royal commissions for guides came in the form of updates and reprints of William Bariffe’s Exercise of Arms, which would be the most common series and copied name of military manuals from the 1640’s into 1700 and even later.

This being the case, there is little to no documentation about which manuals were preferred by what officers or armies for specific battles or even wars, when what was used etc.

1600-1604 Observations upon the five first bookes of Cæsars Commentaries

1607 De Gheyn, Exercise of Arms

1610 The Duello or Single Combat

1613 Aphorismes, Civill and Militarie

1614 The Private School of Defense

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_the-private-schoole-of-d_hale-george_1614

1615 School for the Young Solider Broadside (Gervase Markham)

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_a-schoole-for-young-soul_markham-gervase_1615

1616 The A, B, C of Armes

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_the-a-b-c-of-armes-or-_t-j-gent_1616

1616 The Tactiks of AELIAN

1617 The School of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defense

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_the-schoole-of-the-noble_swetnam-joseph_1617

1618 Military Directions

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_military-directions-or-_davies-edward_1618

1619 The Souldier Pleading his own Cause

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_the-souldier-pleading-hi_trussell-thomas_1619

1619 The Art of War and England’s Traynings

MILITARY DISCIPLINE

1623 Instructions for Muster and Armes

A form for a schedule of musters: https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_forme-of-a-scedule-for-m_england-army_1620

1624 The Gunners Dialogue. With the Art of great Artillery.

1624 Mansfield’s Directions of Warre

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_count-mansfields-directi_mansfield-ernst-von-co_1624

1625 The Souldiers Accidence (Gervase Markham)

1626 The Character of Warre

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_the-character-of-warre-_cooke-edward_1626

1626 The Souldier’s Grammar (Gervase Markham)

1627 Pallas Armada or Militarie Instructions for the Learned

1628 The Gunner Shewing the Whole Practise of Artillerie

1628- [Invention of Shooting Fire Shafts of Long Bowes]

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_a-new-invention-of-shoot_invention_1628/mode/2up

1628 The Prospective Glasse of Warre.

1628,1639 (Many) https://archive.org/search?query=The+Prospective+Glasse+of+Warre

1629 The Military Garden

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_the-military-garden-or-_achesone-james_1629

1. [sermon of the same name] https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_bristolls-military-garde_palmer-thomas_1636

1629 The Bible Battels or the Sacred art of Military

https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_the-bible-battells-_richard-bernard_1629
[This was composed by Richard Bernard, a leading separatist puritan, he congregated with William Brewster and John Robinson and his daughter married Roger Williams]