During the 1300s, things were so fractious in the Italian states that rulers of the various kingdoms did not trust their own people for their own defense. The concern was that whomever was in charge of their armies would turn against the current ruler and depose them. And basically, that is what was happening.

The only way around this was to hire a mercenary army. These people would have no interest in local intrigues and would be available to either defend the various cities or go on campaign against enemies. Eventually, these Condottiere armies would be the status quo and those who could afford the largest army would generally be the most powerful.

Initially the men who made up these armies were veterans of the Hundred Years War, looking for employment, so most were Germans or English or some other nationality other than Italians. However, this was to change and soon these men who ran the condottiere armies were to become even more powerful than the heads of the states for which they were employed.

This book adds to the growing 'Warrior' Series by looking at the background that led to such armies, how the soldiers were enlisted into them, the training they were given, how they led their daily lives, how they looked and the equipment they used and what it was like to be on campaign. And these men were on campaign quite a bit as the cities didn't want them around to prey on their civilians so had them off battling others as often as they could.

There are a considerable number of examples of their tactics and how they changed over the years in various battles. Of course, the condottiere leaders were not beyond conspiracies and betrayals, nor were their patrons, and that is also covered. By the time the early 1500s had arrived, standing armies were more the norm and the need to hire mercenaries became less and less of a need.

The author does a superlative job of telling the story of these men and the somewhat unusual life they led, for these mercenary armies were not common elsewhere in Europe at the time. The excellent illustrations of Graham Turner shows what these men looked like and how they were armed for battle.

Overall a book that covers a lesser known, but still important part of Western history and one that I'm sure you will enjoy reading.

August 2007

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