How the French King made war on the King of Feuereisen in his realm and how the King of Feuereisen died in the battle (1512–16): Art, History and Details

How the French King made war on the King of Feuereisen in his realm and how the King of Feuereisen died in the battle (1512–16) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Hans Burgkmair (German, 1473–1531).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The Battle of Nancy on January 7, 1477, between the forces of the king of France (Louis XI) and the king of Feuereisen (Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy) involved early artillery, visible in the distant background. The heavily armored cavalry fight with lances and swords. Of particular interest is the unarmored infantry's use of the pike, a long, small-headed spear, as a lethal hedge against cavalry charges.

Object facts

• Title: How the French King made war on the King of Feuereisen in his realm and how the King of Feuereisen died in the battle
• Date: 1512–16
• Creator attribution: Hans Burgkmair (German, 1473–1531)
• Culture: Germany
• Type: Print
• Technique: woodcut
• Dimensions: Sheet: 22.1 x 19.7 cm (8 11/16 x 7 3/4 in.)
• Collection: PR - Woodcut
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1960.30

A detail from the museum

Throughout the 1200s, the French relied on heavy cavalry as the mainstay of mounted shock combat, a military development that shifted the focus from the axe-wielding infantry man to the heavily armored, lance-carrying knight.

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Richards, Louise. "Woodcuts from 'Der Weisskunig.'" The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 47, no. 7 (September 1960): 166-172.
• Cleveland Museum of Art, “Woodcuts from Der Weisskunig,” September 15, 1960, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.