Theatrum belli OR THE HORRORS OF WAR

Les Misères et les malheurs de la guerre (The Miseries and Misfortunes of War), the title of Jacques Callot's famous series of etchings, has long become a familiar point of reference, reiterated in numerous exhibitions. [1] This is hardly surprising, given that even a cursory glance is enough to engrave upon the memory the images of bloodthirsty attacks, pillaging, murder and wretched soldiers in the throes of death. While the visual impressions they give do correspond closely to the descriptions provided by chronicles, eye witness reports and other contemporary sources, [2] they beg the question as to the value of such illustrations as portrayals of war. Do they in fact "authentically" document the horrors of the Thirty Years' War?

Today it seems perfectly natural to speak of war as a sociopolitical phenomenon, as a product of misguided government policy, social or economic pressure. [3] Yet to what extent do such concepts coincide with 17 [th]-century attitudes to the violence of war? More specifically, can a portrayal by Callot or Franck of a military attack represent war in the same way as the twentieth-century war images - or rather anti-war images - to which we are accustomed, siding with the victims and railing against the perpetrators? [4] Apparently not, especially given the fact that, in the areas where the Thirty Years' War raged its fiercest, war events were never the predominant pictorial theme. [5]

There is much evidence to suggest that, at the time, the Thirty Years' War with all its epidemics and famines was widely regarded as a form of just retribution or even quite simply as heralding the Day of Judgement. War could thus be perceived as a divine sign in much the same way as various earthly and cosmic "miracles". On the other hand, it is typical of the mindset of the day that it was not peace, but bellum omnium in omnes that was regarded as characterising the natural state of things. [6] Given a situation in which death was part and parcel of everyday life and a sudden early demise the rule rather than the exception, it may not have been considered particularly out of the ordinary to lay down one's life in war. War, like death, remained something beyond the scope of human ken. What was important was not so much death itself as the manner of dying. [7]

In 1612 the Dutch poet Daniel Heinsius wrote "Theatrum est hic orbis in quo Natura hominem collocavit". [8] For those living in the time of the Thirty Years' War the events on the battlefield were merely one chapter in that great theatrum mundi that is the "Schaw=Platz der Geschichten der Welt" (scene of the histories of the world) as it says in the foreword to the first volume of Theatrum Europeum published in 1635. [9] When the Great Council met at Osnabrück in 1648, it seemed to the representatives of Nuremberg that the last war was "das blutige theatrum belli [...], auff welchem viel grewliche tragoedien diese Zeitt über gespielt worden" (the bloody theatrum belli [...] where many gruesome tragedies have been played during these times). [10] A copy of Franck's sequence has survived under the title ?Kriegstheater?. [11] The designation, meaning "theatre of war" is probably derived from the frontispiece figure, an officer with sash and staff atop Fortuna's globe, framed by a stage curtain (fig. 1). It is not entirely clear whether this is in fact intended as a theatrical reference. Certainly, the manner of fastening, like the pinning back of a cloth, does lend the impression of a painted backdrop, and as such it presents the spectator with a puzzle picture fluctuating somewhere between surface and space, reality and theatre, metaphor and documentation.



Capriccio and Soldatenbüchlein

In order to grasp the deeper context of war, judgement and death, we have to consider the series of engravings as a medium in its own right. The war sequences of the 17 [th] century were described variously as Capriccio or Soldatenbüchlein. Distinguishing between these two groups permits us to document the individual objectives of military pictorial series. The terms used do not represent any hermetic categories or independent artistic genres, but are simply an expression of different visual expectations and applications. Whereas the Capriccio is first and foremost a free interpretation of the client's pictorial model or demand for representation, the Soldatenbüchlein is to be regarded as a guideline for military training and a call to arms. In other words, the Capriccio would appear to cater to an artistic or aesthetic interest, whereas the Soldatenbüchlein is primarily a practical instrument.

At the beginning of the Thirty Years' War a considerably abridged version of Jacob de Gheyn's Exercise of Arms was published by Peter Isselburg in Nuremberg under the title Kuenstliche Waffenhandlung. [12] Probably the most important book of military theory of the early 17 [th] century [13], it was written in the wake of Johann von Nassau's military reform and formed the basis for a large number of diverse Kriegsbüchlein, or "booklets on war". [14]. It was subsequently surpassed in popularity only by Wallhausen's Kriegskunst. [15]

The first edition of 1607 contained 117 copperplate engravings based on drawings by De Gheyn. [16] In three separate sections, these provide instruction on the necessary techniques for handling muskets, pikes and matchlocks (harquebuses). Isselburg, himself a copperplate engraver, omitted the portrayals of the latter - "gemeine Rohr und Schuetzen" - in his later edition, because, as he noted in the introduction, the harquebus was no longer in common use. At the same time, he reduced the format from folio (with engravings measuring approx. 17.5 x 27 cm) to quarto and included two figures on each plate instead of one. The express aim of the publisher was to provide a more compact, more accessible and cheaper Soldatenbüchlein in keeping with the needs of the troops. The use of the diminutive suffix "lein" in the title not only reflected common contemporary usage, but also indicated a practical aim. The "umb mehrer bequaemblichkeit willen in dieses kleine Format auffs new gefertigte Wercklein" (little work re-produced in this small format for reasons of greater convenience) was intended for every reader "besonders aber alle Ehrliebende[n] Soldaten / unnd der Kriegsuebung zu wissen Begirige / solches umb ein geringes Geldt zu wegen bringen (könnten)" (but especially so that all honour-loving soldiers / and those eager to learn the exercises of war / can afford it for little money), as stated in the introduction.

Military breviers of this kind were intended not only to explain the use of weaponry and present the various individual types of troops, but also had the important function of attracting new recruits. Recent research indicates that it proved increasingly difficult in the course of the 17 [th] century for warlords to secure the loyalty of their soldiers and to recruit new ones. [17] Depictions of magnificently equipped bearers of arms thus had a certain role model function. They were intended to attract the reader to military service, offering the mercenary, in particular, the opportunity of identifying with his profession. The idea of attracting recruits had also been the prime motivation behind the 16th century portrayals of the lansquenet or mercenary footsodlier. Often satirical in tone, these engravings, which were generally issued as single-page prints, offered an escape from urban restriction and feudal dependence. They lured recruits with portrayals of foreign climes, arousing the desire for a life of freedom and adventure.

The Soldatenbüchlein of Lukas Kilian [18] published in Augsburg in 1609 also falls within the category of occupationally specific propaganda. The arms and weaponry it shows are those of contemporary footsoldiers. [19] The illustrations are based on the pattern estalished by De Gheyn. The prima plana or first page of the mustering list presents the figures of flautist, company commander and medic. The accompanying verses are particularly important. [20] The introductory rhyme, for example, clearly calls upon the lansquenet to strengthen his military resolve: "Wolauff jr wackere[n] Soldaten / Thut dises Buechlins nit entrathen / Dann es auffmuntern kann den Mann / Das ers frischer greiffet an" (Good health to you fine soldiers / do not dismiss this little book / for it can encourage a man / to attack with refreshed strength)(fig. 2). Kilian obviously aims to raise the prestige of armed service to that of any other occupation, thereby countering any doubts concerning the legitimacy of combat.

The purpose of the Soldatenbüchlein makes it quite clear that the prints it contains are not to be divided into categories of "free" art and "unfree" illustration. The very term "Büchlein" (literally "booklet" or "little book") can be understood beyond its specific format within the context of the day. When Sandrart mentions Callot's "Cappric[c]io-Büchlein" or when he speaks of the war series as a "verwunderlichen Büchlein genannt Le Misere della Guerre als ein besonder ausgesonnenes Werk von des Krieges Jammer, Elend und Noht" (wondrous booklet called Le Misere della Guerre, a particularly well conceived work on the misery, wretchedness and penury of war) [21] we can actually assume that he is indeed talking about a bound book or pamphlet in which the copperplate engravings were originally inserted.

A second category of military pictorial cycles is based on the capriccio. This important art historical concept was originally a musical term describing a work of lively fancy, a witty and whimsical invention or idea. [22] In the course of the 17 [th] century, capricci eventually came to stand primarily for variations on a single theme - that of war. Battle depictions of various kinds were particularly popular in Italy. [23] It was there that Stefano della Bella produced his six engravings entitled Varij Capricij Militarij [24] around 1641, just a few years after the Strasbourg-born artist Johann Wilhelm Baur had likewise created a fifteen-part series entitled CAPRICCI DI VARIE BATTALGLIE. [25] Baur's sea battles and cavalry combat are fraught with tension. While the battle scenes themselves are depicted as dramatic events, they cannot be historically pinpointed, for the aim of the series, as the title suggests, is to portray soldiers, arms and weaponry in a positive light.

Not all sequences depicting war scenes with the typical characteristics of the capriccio actually bear this name. In spite of its title, Stefano della Bella's six-part series ET PACE ET BELLO makes no statement on either war or peace. [26] The engravings were commissioned by the Marquis de Mauluerie, a naval officer in the service of Louis XIII. The attractive title page with its castle entrance flanked by mighty towers is followed by the familiar panorama of battle scenes: sea battle, horseback duel, cavalry behind the lines. All in all, there is a distinct preference for equestrian scenes. Jan Martszen the Younger is known mainly for his cavalry battles. There is a capriccio by Albert Flamens showing only equestrian combat. [27]

None of the series described has any obvious connection with the actual circumstances of the Thirty Years' War. It should be borne in mind, however, that, with few exceptions, these series of prints were produced and published outside Germany. The capriccio as a portrayal of war and battle did not act as a description of "reality" but possessed a decorative function instead. [28] Depictions of this kind were created first and foremost for a specific clientele of artistocratic officers and collectors with an interest in all things military. By contrast, the illustrated Soldatenbüchlein are purely functional, though not necessarily "neutral" prints whose contents can be more or less defined (according to Rainer Wohlfeil) as "technologically factual".

The series of war and soldier portrayals by Hans Ulrich Franck [29] and the artist known by the monogram CR [30] possess the superficial characteristics of both the capriccio and the Soldatenbüchlein. Whereas Franck's work is characterised by the apparently arbitrary use of popular military motifs such as direct combat and horsemanship, the second series is dominated by scenes from the soldier's life. First comes the gartender Landsknecht or lansquenet, his initial successes and his ignominious end. Unlike the war series mentioned earlier, however, the two cycles are based on a concept that goes beyond the decorative depiction of battle panoramas and idyllic scenes lauding the life of the lansquenet. Featuring misfortune, planetary influences and admonitions of a sinner's death, both sequences pronounce sweeping judgements on the soldier's life. This is particularly evident in the thematic emphasis of the cover and end plate, which serve to bracket all the other illustrations within a more or less hermetic programme of Christian moral argumentation.



Fortuna and the gods of war

Fortuna, that "vehicle of the human will and its constant frustration" [31] is regarded as the most important deity of the Renaissance. In the 17 [th] century there was an extraordinary interest in this two-sided figure that could change from Fortuna bona to Fortuna mala at any time. "Glück und Vnglück wendet sich alle Augenblick" (fortune and misfortune turn at any moment) and "Hier ist beständig nichts / als unbeständigkeit" (here nothing is constant / but inconstancy) wrote Christoph Lehmann and Paul Fleming during the Thirty Years' War. [32]

Apart from reflecting a general prevailing mood, the motif of Fortuna was also specifically applied in the analysis of current war events. This can be shown by way of example of illustrated single prints. The image of fickle fortune may have seemed particularly appropriate when a military endeavour appeared doomed to failure right from the start. The Austrian peasant uprising of 1626, for example, is cited in one such print as evidence of the "Thumbkuenheit der Menschen / welche gleichsamb ex desperatione, das wandelbare Gluecksrad / nach ihrem Willen und Gefallen / zu erzwingen sich vnterfangen" (foolish audacity of people / who through desperation seek to force the fickle wheel of fortune / according to their will and pleasure). Such a revolt, it maintains, obviously has as little chance of success as the Peasants' Revolt a hundred years previously, because it is "allein auff Glueck fundiret" (founded upon fortune alone). [33]

The enormous risk to life and property made war a game of all or nothing. Those daring enough to take that risk were, in the eyes of their contemporaries, quite literally soldiers of fortune. One such figure shown in a Genoese genealogy bears remarkable compositional similarities to the work of Franck (fig 3). [34] The officer on the globe is not parading in contemporary cuirass but in knightly armour, and one half of his body belongs to a player with a lute. In other words, the soldier of fortune is a gambler whose fortune is as readily won as lost. The globe of Fortuna also has another significance as a Vanitas metaphor. [35] In the course of the 17 [th] century the glass sphere came to be transformed into the soap bubble, perhaps the most poignant symbol of earthly transience. In the work of Franck the fickle fortunes of war are condensed into a Theatrum fortunae [36] whose fateful outcome is already charted from the very beginning. The illustration and accompanying motto warn against the violent and ignominious end which the series by the monogrammist CR presents as the other, sadder, side of the soldier's life.

The cover prints by the monogrammist CR show the planetary gods of war Mars (fig. 4) and Saturn (fig. 5). Aligned in mirror image, these two sets of twelve plates each represent the "good" and "bad" aspects of a soldier's life. Beneath the deities we can read the following inscriptions:

(Mars)
"Ob ich gleich Wütent Gott zeig hir mein Wehr vnd Waffn / So kann doch auch zugleich, die Kunst viel nutzn schaffn."
("Though I present arms here as an irate god / this may also be of much use in art.")

(Saturn)
"Gleich wie mein Vortrab Mars, Sein Kindr Heil v. glüg, / zeigt in den fördern buch So geht doch hier zurück, / Al ihr fürnehmen bald, Vvter mein Regiment, Dan ich ihn lohnen thu, mit ein schandlichn End."
("As Mars before me shows his children hail and hearty, / in this present book, then turn about here, / all that are honourable, under my regiment, / I shall reward them with an ignominious end.")

FOOTNOTES