“A horse is a feeling animal”: interspecies interaction and animal agency in Renaissance warfare

Cockram, S. (2023) “A horse is a feeling animal”: interspecies interaction and animal agency in Renaissance warfare. In: Bowd, S., Cockram, S. and Gagné, J. (eds.) Shadow Agents of Renaissance War: Suffering, Supporting, and Supplying Conflict in Italy and Beyond. Series: Renaissance history, art and culture. Amsterdam University Press: Amsterdam, pp. 95-119. ISBN 9789463721356

Abstract

In The Art of War (1521), Machiavelli describes the horse as ‘a feeling animal’, highlighting animal individuality and human-horse understanding. This chapter explores such interspecies interaction, approaching Renaissance warfare as a multispecies experience. It considers the impact of war on animals, and vice versa, arguing that animal agency fundamentally affected the military enterprise. The chapter begins with theories of agency and, in relation to the Italian Wars (1494-1559), takes up the proposal that the well-functioning horse and rider worked as a ‘unity’. Moving beyond the equine, it examines canine, feline, and parasitic agents of war. This chapter’s more-than-human perspective calls for inclusive conception of agency, serious investigation of interrelationships among and between species, and the rethinking of traditional military histories.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Keywords: Renaissance warfare, Italian Wars, historical animal studies, animals, agency, interspecies interaction, unity, horse, dog, cat, lice, parasite.
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Cockram, Dr Sarah
• Authors: Cockram, S.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
• ISBN: 9789463721356