Full Description
In medieval and Renaissance Europe, mercenaries--professional soldiers who fought for money or other rewards--played violent, colorful, international roles in warfare, but they have received relatively little scholarly attention. In this book a large number of vignettes portray their activities in Western Europe over a period of nearly 900 years, from the Merovingian mercenaries of 752 through the Thirty Years' War, which ended in 1648. Intended as an introduction to the subject and drawing heavily on contemporary first-person accounts, the book creates a vivid but balanced mosaic of the many thousands of mercenaries who were hired to fight for various employers.
Contents
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Introduction: An Overview of Medieval and Renaissance Warfare 5
I. Meeting the Warriors and the Tools of Their Trade 23
II. The Long-Haired Kings 48
III. "Human thoughts are inclined to greed" 60
IV. "They went about in bands of thousands" 74
V. "All the foreign knights, bowmen, their attendants and the mercenaries" 84
VI. "An escort of galloglas armed with battle-axes" 92
VII. "Drink thy blood, Beaumanoir" 104
VIII. "They were bold and warlike fellows" 116
IX. A Skeleton in Armor 132
X. "The Light of Italy" 142
XI. "Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless
deleteand dangerous" 151
Conclusions 169
Appendices
1. Armor 175
2. Swiss Mercenaries 178
Chronology 181
Chapter Notes 185
Bibliography 195
Index 205
