Hurdles are frames formed of perpendicular stakes with horizontal bars, and braced with diagonal pieces for the purpose of forming temporary fences. In fortification the name was given to a collection of twigs or sticks closely interwoven and sustained by long stakes, serving to render works firm, or to cover traverses and lodgements for the defence of workmen against fireworks or stones. Research Hurdles
Albert Durer was a German painter, designer, sculptor, and engraver on wood and metal. He was born in 1471 at Nurnberg and died in 1528. His father was a skilful goldsmith of Hungary. In 1486 he left his father's trade and became an apprentice of Michael Wohlgemuth, then the best painter in Nurnberg. Having finished his studies he entered upon his 'wanderjahre,' the usual course of travels of a German youth. On his return to Nurnberg he married the daughter of Hans Frey, a mechanic, who has been falsely accused for centuries of embittering his life and bringing him to his grave. In 1505 he went to Venice to improve himself in his art.
His abilities excited envy and admiration. He painted the Martyrdom of Bartholomew for St. Mark's church, which painting was purchased by the Emperor Rudolph and removed to Prague. He also travelled to Bologna, to improve bisknowledge of perspective. On his return to Nurnberg his fame spread far and wide. Maximilian I appointed him his court-painter, and Charles V confirmed him in this office.
All the artists and learned men of his time honoured and loved him, and for many years he was one of the chief burghers of his native town. Profound application and great facility in the mechanical part of his art were the characteristics of Albert Durer, and enabled him to exert a great influence on German art. He was the first in Germany who taught the rules of perspective, and of the proportions of the human figure. He not only made use of the burin, like his predecessors, but was also among the first to practice etching and invented the method of printing woodcuts with two colours.
Among his masterpieces in painting are a Crucifixion, Adam and Eve, an Adoration of the Magi, and portraits of Raphael, Erasmus, and Melanchthon, who were his friends. Among his best engravings on copper are his Fortune, Melancholy, Adam and Eve in Paradise, St. Hubert, St. Jerome, and the Smaller Passion (so called), in sixteen plates. Among his best engravings on wood are the Greater Passion (so called), in thirteen plates; the Smaller Passion, with the frontispiece, thirty-seven pieces; the Revelation of St. John, with the frontispiece, fifteen plates; the Life of Mary, two prints, with the frontispiece. Albert Durer has also much merit as a writer, and published works on Human Proportion, Fortification, and the Use of the Compass and Square. Research Albert Durer
Boniface IX was a pope from 1389 until 1404. He was elected during the schism in the church while Clement VII resided at Avignon. He made a shameless traffic of ecclesiastical offices, dispensations, etc, and lavished the treasures thus procured on his relations or on costly edifices - the fortification of the castle of St Angelo, for instance, and the Capitol. He died in 1404. Research Boniface IX
John Thomas was an American soldier. He was born in 1725 at Massachusetts and died in 1776. He commanded a regiment under General Amherst at Crown Point in 1760, and aided in the capture of Montreal. He was appointed a brigadier-general by the Provincial Congress in 1775. He had charge of the fortification of Dorchester Heights, which led to the evacuation of Boston by the British. In 1776 he was given command in Canada, but died of small-pox. Research John Thomas
Lazare Carnot was a French general. He was born in 1753 and died in 1823. He joined the army as an engineer, and at the Revolution earned the title of ' Organizer of victory', since he not only reformed French fighting methods, but also introduced efficient systems of supplying munitions, clothing, and especially food, to the troops. After the coup d'etat of 1797 he went abroad, but returned in 1799 and was made War Minister from 1800 to 1801. In 1814 as governor of Antwerp he put up a brilliantly successful defence. He was Minister of the Interior during the Hundred Days, he was proscribed at the Restoration and retired to Magdeburg, where he died. His great work on fortification (De la defense de places fortes published in 1810) became a military textbook. Research Lazare Carnot
Baron Menno van Coehorn was a Dutch military engineer. He was born in 1641 and died in 1704. Having entered the Dutch military service he distinguished himself by his invention of small mortars, called after him coehorns, but more by his eminence as a master of the art of fortification, whence he has been called the Dutch Vauban. He fortified almost all the strong places in Holland. Research Menno Coehorn
Tadeusz Kosciuszko was a Polish soldier. He was born in 1746 and died in 1817. He went to America from Poland in 1775. He was commissioned a colonel under General Gates in 1776, and distinguished-himself by his engineering skill. He superintended the fortification at West Point. He was brevetted brigadier-general in 1783. He was afterward prominent in the defence of Poland in 1794. Research Tadeusz Kosciuszko
Zebulon M Pike was an American soldier. He was born in 1779 and died in 1813. While in the US army he explored the Mississippi to its source in 1805. From 1806 to 1807 he was engaged in geographical explorations in Louisiana territory and discovered Pike's Peak in the Rocky Mountains. He was seized by the Spanish Government for trespassing on Spanish territory, but was soon afterward released. In 1813 he was assigned to the principal army as adjutant and inspector general. He commanded the expedition against York, Upper Canada, and was killed by the explosion of a magazine of a captured fortification. Research Zebulon Pike
In fortification, a banquette is a small bank at the foot of a parapet, from which the defenders can safely fire over the parapet. The height of the parapet above the banquette was usually about 1.3 meters; the breadth of the banquette about one or two metres according to the number of ranks to occupy it. Banquettes were frequently made double, that is, a second was made still lower. Research Banquette
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Hurdles
