Why Is Leonardo Da Vinci Important

Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the greatest inventors of the Renaissance Era, a Renaissance man. A pioneer in art, engineering, and philosophy, there wasn’t something the man had thought over. However, he was a passive man who despised violence against animals or humans, but as an inventor and artist, he had to take commissions from some of the most unsavory and bloodthirsty figures of Renaissance Italy. With many Italian city-states looking to conquer each other, advancements in military tech had been celebrated ever since the war mongering days of the Middle Ages. Leonardo designed weapons such as catapults, giant crossbows, a tank, a steam powered cannon, and multiple other horse powered carts/weapons. As for the tank design, Leonardo designed it under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza in 1487. It was designed to be driven straight into a battlefield, and obliterate the enemy with its 360 degree cannons. The design took inspirations from nature, as he was quoted saying, “Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, simpler or more direct than nature does, because in her inventions nothing is

A skill which Leonardo held over many of his contemporaries, the psychological effects of weapons in warfare, and that the fear you could instill in your enemy was often more important than the damage the weapon could do. The crossbow was to measure 27 yards across, be on six wheels, and would be made of thin wood to improve flexibility. It was also designed to fire large stones, or flaming arrows. The weapon would be fired by one soldier pulling a crank to pull back the drawstring mechanism, while another would use a mallet to knock out a holding pin and release the crossbows payload. His drawings of the crossbow invention make it clear behind this impressive invention was that it would cause its enemies to flee instead of