The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

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

Hans Burgkmair

(German, 1473–1531)
Germany
woodcut
Sheet: 22.1 x 19.7 cm (8 11/16 x 7 3/4 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1960.30
Catalogue raisonné: Hollstein V.116.454
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

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.

Description

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.
  • Richards, Louise. "Woodcuts from 'Der Weisskunig.'" The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 47, no. 7 (September 1960): 166-172. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 168 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, “Woodcuts from Der Weisskunig,” September 15, 1960, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
  • Year in Review - Nineteen Hundred Sixty. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 30, 1960-January 1, 1961).
  • {{cite web|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|url=false|author=Hans Burgkmair|year=1512–16|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1960.30