Franz Helm

Illustration of a man loading a cannon, from a 1584 copy of Helm's Buch von den probierten Künsten

Franz Helm (ca. 1500–1567[1]) was an artillery master who lived and worked in what is now Germany in the first half of the 16th century. By his own account, he was born in Cologne, perhaps around 1500. Described as a "shooter, cannonier and fireworker,"[2] Helm fought with the armies of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V against the Ottoman Empire. He subsequently moved to Landshut in the then Duchy of Bavaria, where he served the dukes William IV, Louis X and Albert V. He later served John II, Count Palatine of Simmern.[3]

  1. ^ "The Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection of Manuscripts" (PDF). Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies. 2013.
  2. ^ Werrett, Simon (2010). Fireworks: Pyrotechnic Arts and Sciences in European History. University of Chicago Press. p. 27. ISBN 9780226893778.
  3. ^ Lang, Rainer (2002). Ars belli: deutsche taktische und kriegstechnische Bilderhandschriften und Traktate im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert. Reichert. pp. 335–6. ISBN 9783895002618.