On behalf of the University of Michigan Library, we would like to express our gratitude to Samuel L. Chappell (B.S. 1969) and Roberta J. Chappell (B.S. 1967) for their generous gift that allowed us to acquire a manuscript and an early printed book for our military history collection. Since their graduation from the U-M, Sam and Bobbie have kept in touch with the Library in various ways, including generous donations to advance our academic mission.
By selecting the military history collection as the recipient of this gift, Sam has made an extraordinary connection between his extensive army experience and the historical past as materialized in old military books. Sam was drafted into the Army after graduation, marking the beginning of an outstanding career that lasted for thirty-one years. In the last two years in the Army, Sam was The Army Chair/Professor of Military Strategy and Strategic Logistics at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), National Defense University.
Title page of Articles of War for Francesco I (1708-1765) Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany (Florence, 1739)
Graphic describing the parade formation of a battalion consisting of four companies, from Articles of War for Francesco I (1708-1765) Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany (Florence, 1739)
Graphic describing the battle formation of a battalion consisting of two companies, and two marches with platoons for parade and battle respectively, from Articles of War for Francesco I (1708-1765) Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany (Florence, 1739)
The first acquisition from this gift (see images above) is an eighteenth-century manuscript of the so-called “Articles of War” (Articuli di Guerra) prepared for service to the Holy Roman Emperor: Articles of War for Francesco I (1708-1765, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Duke of Tuscany (Florence, 1739). Written by Francesco Tougluinero and dated April 20, 1739, this manuscript contains practical information on military regulations, including code of conduct, honors, rules of the cavalry, plans for parade and battle order, marching formations of army divisions, and an explanation of the terminology employed for commands, flag and fire exercises, and the ranks of the military.
Front cover, calf skin with tooled coat of arms, from Arrian. Ars tactica, Acies contra Alanos, Periplus Ponti Euxini, Periplus Maris Erythraei, Liber de venatione, Epicteti Enchiridion, eiusdem Apopthegmata et Fragmenta. Ed. Trans. Nicolaas Blanckaert. Amsterdam: Johannes Janssonius van Waesberge, 1683
Title page of Arrian. Ars tactica, Acies contra Alanos, Periplus Ponti Euxini, Periplus Maris Erythraei, Liber de venatione, Epicteti Enchiridion, eiusdem Apopthegmata et Fragmenta. Ed. Trans. Nicolaas Blanckaert. Amsterdam: Johannes Janssonius van Waesberge, 1683
Beginning of Arrian's Ars tactica, in the original Greek with the Latin translation, from Arrian. Ars tactica, Acies contra Alanos, Periplus Ponti Euxini, Periplus Maris Erythraei, Liber de venatione, Epicteti Enchiridion, eiusdem Apopthegmata et Fragmenta. Ed. Trans. Nicolaas Blanckaert. Amsterdam: Johannes Janssonius van Waesberge, 1683
Folding engraving describing the Red Sea, from Arrian. Ars tactica, Acies contra Alanos, Periplus Ponti Euxini, Periplus Maris Erythraei, Liber de venatione, Epicteti Enchiridion, eiusdem Apopthegmata et Fragmenta. Ed. Trans. Nicolaas Blanckaert. Amsterdam: Johannes Janssonius van Waesberge, 1683
Folding engraving describing battle formations of the Roman Army, from Arrian. Ars tactica, Acies contra Alanos, Periplus Ponti Euxini, Periplus Maris Erythraei, Liber de venatione, Epicteti Enchiridion, eiusdem Apopthegmata et Fragmenta. Ed. Trans. Nicolaas Blanckaert. Amsterdam: Johannes Janssonius van Waesberge, 1683
The second purchase (see images above) is a seventeenth-century edition containing most of the extant works by the Greek historian, philosopher, public servant, and military commander, Lucius Flavius Arrianus (85-90-after 146 CE ), commonly known as Arrian in English. Edited, annotated, and translated from Greek into Latin by the Dutch polymath Nicolaas Blanckaert (1624-1703), this edition is illustrated with two folding engraved maps, one folding engraved table of military formations, and several woodcuts displaying diagrams within the text.
Unfortunately, our knowledge of Arrian’s life and career is restricted to just a few biographical facts. For instance, we know that he was born from a well-connected family in Nicomedia in Bithynia, a kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (northern Anatolia). As a young student of the stoic philosopher Epictetus, Arrian started building an extensive network of prominent members of the Roman elite, shaping his future political and military career. Under Trajan he took part in the Parthian war, and was appointed to the Senate either by Trajan or Hadrian. From 131 to 137, he was the highest military legate of the Roman army (legatus Augusti pro praetore) in the province of Cappadocia, located in the region of Central Anatolia. In this province, he wrote the first three works contained in this volume: Essay on Tactics (Ars tactica), Order of Battle against the Alans (Acies contra Alanos) and Periplos of the Black Sea (Periplus Ponti Euxoni). These three treatises are followed by the Periplos of the Erythraean Sea (Red Sea) (Periplus Maris Erythraei), erroneously attributed to Arrian, and the fascinating treatise On Hunting (Liber de venatione). The last part of the volume consists of three different editions of the Enchiridion (manual) on Epictetus (Epicteti Stoici Philosophi Enchiridion), ending with two brief compilations of works attributed to Epictetus.