Tous les deables d'enfer

"In the spring of 1480 the Ottomans laid siege to the town of Rhodes, the headquarters of the Order of the Hospital. For three months, night and day, they bombarded the walls with their giant cannon, but the defenders, galvanized by the Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson resisted fiercely, forcing the invader into inglorious retreat. Both sides used the most modern weapons, artillery, artificial fire and infernal machines, and they also employed psychological warfare involving spies and traitors. The siege ended with a series of miraculous events which supposedly put the Turks to flight, even though they had taken part of the ramparts. The Hospitallers' unlikely victory over an enemy who was reputedly invincible became one of the most highly publicized events of the century, as is demonstrated by the surviving accounts. Some, for example those of Guillaume Caoursin, Mary du Puis and Giacomo della Corte, are frequently quoted; others are completely unknown, such as the extraordinarily detailed Histoire journalière written by one of the defenders. The present volume presents the first scientific edition of these texts which are in French, Latin, Italian and Turkish, together with a selection of accounts written by pilgrims who visited Rhodes just after the siege; these are translated from German, Italian, Dutch, Latin, Czech and Hebrew. There are in all some 50 witnesses. A complete iconographic dossier and a series of plans enrich the volume."--