The condottieri were Italian mercenary leaders and military entrepreneurs. In their golden age, they controlled much of Italy’s military power, and it was almost impossible to wage war without them. Their enemies feared their battle prowess and their allies appreciated their support, but both were equally wary of their capriciousness. Let’s explore how these influential military entrepreneurs shaped Italy’s history and how they dominated its battlefields for over 200 years.

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Chapters:
00:00 What are Condottieri (Intro)
00:51 From Mercenary to Military Entrepreneurs
04:01 The Golden Age of the Condottieri
16:24 The "Domestication" of the Condottieri

Bibliography:
Caferro, William. John Hawkwood: An English Mercenary in Fourteenthcentury Italy, 2006.
Caferro, W. P., The Career of John Hawkwood, in: Medieval Warfare, Warfare and mercenaries in Early Renaissance Italy 2018, pp. 612.
Caferro, William P., slaying the hydraheaded beast: Italy and the companies of adventure in the fourteenth century, In: Crusaders, condottieri and cannon, 2003, pp. 285304.
Caferro, William P., “The fox and the lion”: the White Company and the Hundred Years War in Italy, In: The Hundred Years War. A wider focus, 2005, pp. 179210.
Caferro, W. P., John Hawkwood: Florentine Hero and Faithful Englishman, In: The Hundred Years War. Different vistas , 2008, pp. 295328.
Mallet, Michael, Mercenaries, in: Keen, M. (ed.), Medieval Warfare. A History, Oxford 1999, p. 209229.
Mallet, Michael. Mercenaries and their Masters, Bodley Head, London, 2009 (first published 1974).
Norman Housely, Ch. 6 ‘European Warfare c. 12001320’ in Keen (1999), p. 115, 1999.
Rogers, C. J., s. v. Castagnaro, battle of, in: The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, 2010.