Milan, around 1482: Leonardo da Vinci writes to Ludovico Sforza offering his services, listing bridges, cannons, armoured vehicles and siege engines before modestly noting he can also paint
Applicant Lists Impressive Skills
MILAN, around 1482 – Ludovico Sforza, known as Il Moro, the powerful ruler of Milan, has received a remarkable letter from a thirty-year-old artist from Florence named Leonardo da Vinci, offering his services. The letter, a draft of which survives in Leonardo own papers, is one of the most famous job applications in history. Officials at the Milanese court describe it as confident.
What He Offered
The letter is mostly about war. Leonardo lists, in numbered points, the military services he could provide. He claims he can design light, strong portable bridges for pursuing or escaping enemies, and methods of destroying the enemy bridges. He offers ways of draining moats during a siege, making scaling ladders and other siege equipment, and destroying fortresses not built on rock. He describes portable cannons that could hurl small stones like hail, armoured covered vehicles that could break through enemy lines, which historians often compare to early ideas of the tank, catapults, mortars and other weapons, and designs for ships able to resist attack. For good measure, he mentions secret underground passages.
Only near the end, almost as an afterthought, does he mention that in times of peace he can design buildings, conduct water from one place to another and make sculptures in marble, bronze or clay, and that in painting he can do as well as anyone else, whoever he may be. He also offers to make a great bronze horse in honour of Ludovico father.
Historians note that this was a shrewd application. Milan was a military power in a dangerous age, and Ludovico needed engineers more than painters.
Did It Work?
Leonardo moved to Milan and stayed at the Sforza court for around seventeen years. In practice, he was used less as a military engineer and more as an artist, designer and organiser of court festivities and spectacles. He painted portraits, including the Lady with an Ermine, and, between about 1495 and 1498, The Last Supper on the wall of the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. He spent years working on the giant bronze horse, creating a huge clay model, but the bronze set aside for it was reportedly used to make cannon to defend Milan against the French. When the French captured Milan in 1499, their soldiers are said to have used the clay horse for target practice.
The Notebooks
Leonardo filled thousands of pages of notebooks with drawings and ideas, written in his famous mirror writing, from right to left, covering anatomy, flight, water, optics, engineering and much else. Many of his designs, including flying machines and armoured vehicles, were never built in his lifetime. He died in France in 1519. Historians note that few people have ever had a CV quite like his.
Meanwhile, in 2026
Presenting yourself to powerful people remains an art. The London Prat reports Prince William reportedly calling Earl Spencer and Harry traitors after an unnamed source claimed the heir believes his brother read their uncle memoir first. Geo News repeated the traitor word, and the uncle says he told everyone. Renaissance historians note that Leonardo understood exactly what his royal audience wanted to hear, and suggest that anyone dealing with a palace might learn from his tact.
The London Prat has been writing ambitious job applications since 1961 at https://prat.uk/, with its royal row video on YouTube. Bohiney at https://bohiney.com/ covers American careers advice.
Study Questions for Students
Why did Leonardo focus on military skills? What did he actually do in Milan? What do his notebooks reveal about his mind? Discuss, and update your own CV.
SOURCE: https://prat.uk/prince-william-called-earl-spencer-and-harry-traitors/