Crazed Mercenaries: 5 famous founders of private military companies in history who shocked the world

Reckless adventurers, robbers - condottieres. At one time, the name of each of them thundered throughout Europe. Fate is cruel to mercenaries, and warriors rarely die old men in their own beds. However, it is their deeds that later become the basis for historical novels and legends.

In this article, we have collected 5 of the most famous condottieres of the Middle Ages who influenced the course of history.

6 PHOTOS

1. Braccio Montone

A vengeful and extremely dangerous madman who served as a condottiere in the first half of the 15th century for various Italian nobles. He was remembered for his passion for throwing people off towers and rocks, executing people for bad news, and finding the sound of heads cracked on stone pleasant.

Do you think he was feared and hated? Not at all. “He looked like a god when he pranced through the streets of Florence,” contemporaries wrote about him.

Braccio managed to visit the lord and count of almost every Italian city. It couldn't be otherwise. When Rome denied him honors, he destroyed the dam and flooded the eternal city. Montone died in battle in 1424 at the age of 55.

2. Roger de Flor

The incredible fate of Roger formed the basis of the Catalan novel The White Tyrant, a work popular at the end of the 15th century. The condottiere himself lived in the second half of the 13th century, starting his career as a knight of the Knights Templar.

However, the fate of the poor warrior-monk did not appeal to the adventurer. In 1291, the figure was caught in extortion and was expelled from the organization in disgrace.

The acquired talents did not go to waste. Roger entered the service of the Byzantine emperor Andronicus II. The condottiere put together an army of mercenaries of 6,000 people. With this force, the former Templar conquered a number of territories in Asia Minor from the Turks.

3. However, Andronicus either could not or did not want to pay for the works of Roger, which led the condottiere to the idea of founding his own duchy on the occupied lands.

He failed to carry out his plans. In 1305, at the age of 38, the commander of the mercenaries was invited to a feast in Andrianopol, hosted by the young Emperor Michael IX. Roger and 130 of his associates did not survive this feast.

4. Castruccio Castracani

In the 16th century, the Florentine writer Niccolo Machiavelli made Castruchio the hero of popular Italian anecdotes. It was a kind of "Chuck Norris" of the Middle Ages - brutal, ambitious, and super-successful.

“When Castruccio was close to death, someone asked how he wanted to be buried. “Face down,” the condottiere replied, “when I die, this state will turn upside down.”

The condottiere came from a noble Italian family and served as a mercenary in the army of Philip IV of France, Frederick of Austria, and Louis of Bavaria, sometimes changing banners and sides on the go.

However, in his hometown of Lucca, Castruccio won incredible prestige. It was believed that he was the strongest warrior in Northern Italy. The people of the city adored him. They even forcefully freed the mercenary from prison and subsequently elected him head of Lucca for life.

From Louis of Bavaria, the condottiere received the title of duke and the position of bishop of Pisa. But it only took a year. In 1328, at the age of 44, the new duke died of a simple cold.

5. Werner von Urslingen

In his professional activities, Werner adhered to the motto: "The enemy of pity, mercy, and God." He founded a private military campaign with the pathetic name "The Great Squad".

In 1360, he led the White Company mercenary detachment, whose members wore white cloaks without coats of arms. John Hawkwood, unlike the previous condottiere, came from a poor tailor family. The figure began his career as an ordinary archer in the English army during the Hundred Years War.

The "White Company" was remembered as the most combat-ready military organization, consisting of 1,000 armored knights, sergeants, and squires, as well as 2,000 thousand well-trained infantrymen. 80% of this army consisted of John's compatriots who had gone through the war in France.

The condottiere himself received the nickname "The Butcher" for massacring 5,000 inhabitants in Cesena on the orders of Cardinal Robert of Geneva. However, John lived for 74 years and died in 1394 of a stroke, surrounded by children and grandchildren.