Page 109 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo I

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between wars among Christians, but those who violated them knew that they faced severe
material and spiritual sanctions . Philippe Contamine writes: «During the central centuries
11
of the Middle Ages, not few regions enjoyed at least a durable marginalization of war, if not a
total eradication thereof. And when it [war] took place, its effects were more ‘controlled’» .
12
«The forms of courtly war» lead to relatively chivalrous battles without bloodshed, at least
among Christians, also thanks to the types of weapons, defence and tactics employed .
13

the successiOn Of kinds Of wars in MOdern and cOnteMPOrary ages
From the very beginning of the modern era, during the 16 century wars and those of
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the first half of the 17 century, armed conflicts became more exacerbated due to both the
th
«military revolution» , with the widespread use of gunpowder, new weapons and new or-
14
ganizational models, and ideological elements consisting of religious conflicts triggered by
the Protestant Reform. After the Westphalia Peace of 1648, war returned to be more limited,
out of both technical and “ideological” motives, once again. Professional armies of the 18
th
century were precious goods, so that their commanders were reluctant to risk in decisive
open-field battles. . The organization and logistics of professional armies allowed for ac-
15
complishing Frederic II of Prussia’s intention broadly: «Subjects must not notice when the
sovereign goes to war». On average, 18 century wars used to last one year only. The Seven-
th
Year War (1756-1763) was named so, because it was a considerable exception to that rule.
Realpolitik avoided demonizing the enemy and could lead to a conflict without hatred .
16
Wars did not aim at annihilating adversaries, since they could become allies tomorrow: in a
politically homogeneous Europe, which had the balance of power as the supreme principle
of regulation, overturning alliances was a diplomatic strategy that was accepted and ap-
preciated. In the meanwhile, discussions on «just war» were left aside regarding all aspects
concerning jus ad bellum, since the official teaching of the Church was no longer internation-
ally accepted during the 18 and 19 centuries and the concept of Machiavellian derivation
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prevailed, according to which sovereignty legitimates the actions of the State in any way.
international law «has ... no alternative ... but to accept war, independently of the justice of

11 R. Pernoud, Lumière du moyen age, Paris, 1944, pp. 91-93.
12 This sentence appears only on p.13 of Introduzione all’edizione italiana to P. Contamine, La guerra nel Me-
dioevo, Bologna 1986. The original French edition is titled La Guerre au moyen όge, Paris, 1986. Relevant
to our topic is the entire chapter 9 of this work (chapter 10 in the Italian edition), which contains a more
articulate and problematic description of what Pernoud narrates in a more synthetic and popular fashion.
13 La guerra nel Medioevo, cit., pp. 414-415.
14 See G. Parker’s classic, The military revolution: military innovation and the rise of the West,
1500-1800, Cambridge, 1988.
15 «I do not favour pitched battles, especially at the beginning of a war» − wrote Field-Marshal Maurice of
Saxony in his work Rêveries de Guerre in 1732 − «and I am convinced that a skilful general could make war
all his life without being forced into one» (quoted in M. Howard, War in European History, Oxford, 1976,
p. 71).
16 «It is not the sentiment of hatred, but a legal situation what defines someone as the enemy of the State» (B.
Spinoza, Trattato teologico-politico, in Etica e Trattato teologico-politico, ed. by R. Cantoni and F. Ferg-
nani, Turin, 1980, p. 655.)