Condottieri: The Rise of Mercenary Warfare in the Late Middle Ages

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Condottieri: The Rise of Mercenary Warfare in the Late Middle Ages

Mercenaries waging war for pay became a characteristic phenomenon of the late Middle Ages. The emergence of such warriors is closely connected with political fragmentation, weakness of the central government and frequent military conflicts, especially in Italy, where in the 13th-15th centuries "soldiers of fortune" became an integral part of the armed forces of city-states. The latter, competing with each other, preferred to hire professional soldiers instead of forming a militia from local residents, and the mercenaries themselves became the personification of military skill and ingenuity, sometimes surpassing regular troops in tactics and efficiency.

Condottieri, whose name comes from the Italian word "condotta" (contract), were originally military leaders who entered into contracts with rulers or city authorities. They formed and led their own mercenary companies, which could be quickly assembled and disbanded once their mission was accomplished. These companies were highly disciplined and professional, making them valuable to the unstable Italian principalities and city-republics.



As the feudal system weakened, classical knightly armies became less effective, and many former knights began to seek employment as mercenaries. Their experience and training allowed the condottieri to introduce more tactical and maneuverable approaches to battle, as opposed to the traditional and outdated methods of warfare based on mass clashes of heavy cavalry. As a result, by the 14th century, mercenary armies played a key role in military campaigns across Europe, especially in localized conflicts for power in Italy.

In turn, despite its effectiveness, mercenarism was accompanied by many difficulties, both for the warriors themselves and for the employers.

In particular, the condottieri were loyal not to the country or the king, but only to the contract and the "golden payment." This meant that they could leave the army at any time if offered more favorable conditions, or even go over to the enemy, which, in fact, often happened.

In addition, during times of protracted conflicts and unstable governments, mercenaries often found themselves in situations where payments were delayed or non-existent, and they resorted to looting and terrorizing the local population to provide themselves with the necessities.

At the same time, condottieri, especially experienced and famous ones, required large financial investments. Often cities or rulers found themselves on the verge of ruin, paying them salaries.

Another disadvantage of mercenary work was that the most important thing for such soldiers was to fulfill the terms of the contract, and questions of morality, patriotism and honor played a lesser role for them. This caused hostility among local residents and even regular armies, who often did not trust the condottieri, considering them ruthless hired killers, ready to fight for profit.

Finally, in the conditions of frequent conflicts, mercenaries, and especially condottieri, became a kind of "military elite" that could threaten even their employers. Some condottieri, like Francesco Sforza, managed to use their influence to seize power.

Eventually, the era of the condottieri began to fade with the emergence of the first regular armies and the strengthening of state structures, which allowed European rulers to reduce their reliance on mercenary troops. Changes in technology and combat tactics, such as the use of firearms, weapons and the strengthening of discipline in the regular troops, made the "professional soldier" less relevant.

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  1. 0
    30 October 2024 10: 52
    superior to regular troops in tactics and efficiency.

    I hesitate to ask: what are “regular armies” in the time described by the author?
  2. 0
    30 October 2024 10: 53
    The feature film "Captain Alatriste" 2006 (Spain) - in my opinion, is quite suitable for the topic of the article...
    1. 0
      30 October 2024 11: 27
      Or Paul Verhoeven's Flesh and Blood with Hauer in the lead roles
  3. +1
    30 October 2024 10: 54
    Ultimately, the era of the condottieri began to fade with the emergence of the first regular armies.

    How could mercenaries be superior to "regular armies" that had not yet emerged?
    Who was on whom?
  4. -1
    30 October 2024 10: 55
    Once again I recommend reading: Vitaly Pensky, "The Great Firearms Revolution".
  5. +1
    30 October 2024 10: 59
    Their experience and training allowed the condottieri implement more tactful and maneuverable approaches to battles, contrasting them with traditional and outdated methods of warfare,

    machine method of writing an article?
  6. 0
    30 October 2024 11: 06
    Quote: Dedok
    machine method of writing an article?

    I didn't realize it at all. Who is the author? Is this really an editorial?
    1. 0
      30 October 2024 14: 17
      Is this really an editorial?

      I'm tired of these videos from bloggers, there were normal articles on VO about condottieri
  7. 0
    30 October 2024 13: 56
    And what about our condottieri Gattamelata (sculptor Donatello) and Colleone (sculptor Andre Verrocchio) in the Pushkin Museum.
  8. 0
    30 October 2024 14: 01
    Zhukov presents his hypotheses as truth.
    It was the condottiere Colleone who used artillery outside of fortresses, creating field artillery. The condottiere left as firearms improved, as a result it became impossible to fight by agreement, practically without losses. Weak...
  9. 0
    31 October 2024 10: 51
    "Moral issues" for mercenaries, which played a "lesser role")) This is strong))
    The world based on the care of feudal lords for their subjects was dying. Under fire from firearms, which at that time made senseless the many years of training of hand-to-hand fighters. What kind of "former knights" among the bandits (though the knights were also bandits) the author found - is entirely on his conscience.
    And so - as usual in times of instability, a window of opportunity opened for talented people. Especially since the old tactics that people had been following for many centuries were really dying. And completely "brilliant" new discoveries, like an infantry box, next to which a separate unit of firearms shooters goes, passed for something simply incredible)
    And since everything suddenly became focused on money, that is, no one was loyal to anyone anymore, no one defended anyone for "moral reasons", a kind of monetary intoxication began. That is, the cities, earning money from their artisans and trade duties, began to hire more "firearms", destroying the surrounding feudal lords, so that no one would interfere with the city authorities squeezing money out of the territory.
    This naturally led to the mass emergence of ass-kissers in place of military leaders...