Joe Tryner

Department of History

Research student

Profile

Thesis title: 'A rascal with his fire stick': Gun Culture and Violence in Early Modern Italy

Supervisors:

Period:

1500-1800

Thesis abstract:

When Blaise De’Montluc complained about the ‘rascal with his fire stick’ that downed a nobleman
and friend of his during a skirmish in the Italian Wars, he was criticising a technology that many have claimed to have revolutionised conflict, as well as economies and urban geographies during the sixteenth century. Throughout the Italian Wars, across the social spectrum, an increasing number of early modern citizens were confronted with firearms, and many soon learned how to use them. This project seeks to investigate the understudied social experience of firearms and how the ready availability of weaponry more deadly than traditional alternatives affected social dynamics in Italian cities, towns, and hinterlands.

Qualifications
  • PhD History, University of Sheffield, 2018 - present
  • MA Historical Research, University of Sheffield, 2018
  • BA (Hons) History, University of Sheffield, 2017
Grants

Awards: