The Condottieri: The History of Italy’s Elite Mercenaries during the Middle Ages and Renaissance by Charles River Editors

Author:Charles River Editors
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Charles River Editors
Published: 2020-07-25T16:00:00+00:00

As time went on, infantry played an increasingly large role in the fighting. They never entirely supplanted the heavy cavalry, but dismounted men-at-arms, crossbowmen, and handgonners became more visible and important. Heavy infantry armed with polearms proved especially effective at unseating mounted knights, although the condottieri never adopted the pike squares of the Swiss or Landsknecht mercenaries.

It is important to remember that while the condottieri were the main mercenaries in Italy during this period, others appeared as well, such as the Swiss and the German-speaking Landsknecht. There were also Spaniards who wielded a sword and buckler and acted as light infantry. Then there were the stradiotti, light cavalry from the Balkans who were effective scouts and skirmishers and much feared for their penchant for brutality against civilians. Armed with lances, bows, and crossbows, they proved quite effective against armed opponents too. Some city-states even hired Turks, and the demand for fighting men was so high that all of these kinds of warriors could be found in Italy at a given time.

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