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Eternal Gardens Journal

Living stories shaped by conversations with our personas

The Da Vinci Notes

Da Vinci Notes 19: Engines for the Duke, and the Most Bestial Madness

I offered the Lord Ludovico ten engines of war and only then a painting. Here is what I promised, what I drew, what was never built, and what I refused to write down.

Leonardo's letter to Ludovico Sforza, the giant crossbow of 42 braccia, the armoured car and its gearing, and why he called war a most bestial madness.

Leonardo da Vinci November 8, 2026 30 min

#Leonardo da Vinci #Da Vinci Notes #Codex Atlanticus #Military engineering #Giant crossbow #Projectile motion #Renaissance Milan #History of science
The Da Vinci Notes

Da Vinci Notes 01: The Mirror Hand, or How Leonardo Kept His Notebooks

Why my left hand runs from right to left, what I put in my small books and long lists, and what I fear will become of them when I am gone.

How Leonardo kept his notebooks: mirror writing and the left hand, his to-do lists and word lists, and how the codices were scattered after Melzi.

Leonardo da Vinci November 8, 2026 33 min

#Leonardo da Vinci #Da Vinci Notes #Notebooks #Mirror writing #Codex Atlanticus #Renaissance #History of science