Sir John Hawkwood [1323-1394]: Story Of A Condottiere by John and Giuseppe Marcotti [translated by] - 1889

London: T. Fisher Unwin. Very Good with no dust jacket. 1889. First Edition. Cloth. B&W Illustrations; #20 of 500, signed on the limitation page by Unwin, the publisher. Translated from the Italian by Temple-Leader, John and Giuseppe Marcotti. Dark blue cloth 4TO. Biography of the 14th century English mercenary, Sir John Hawkwood, who spent most of his life in Italy. An interesting look at the military, political and social life of the time. Illustrated with full page plates. Condottiere were were Italian captains contracted to command mercenary companies during the middle ages and multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served European monarchs and Popes during the Italian Wars of the Renaissance and the European Wars of Religion. Notable condottieri include Prospero Colonna, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, Cesare Borgia, Andrea Doria, the Duke of Parma, and the Marquis of Pescara. Sir John Hawkwood led an army of English mercenaries, called the White Company, into Italy, which took a prominent part in the confused wars of the next thirty years. Towards the end of the century the Italians began to organize armies of the same description. This ended the reign of the purely mercenary company, and began that of the semi-national mercenary army which endured in Europe till replaced by the national standing army system. In 1363, Count von Landau was betrayed by his Hungarian soldiers, and defeated in combat, by the White Company's more advanced tactics under commanders Albert Sterz and John Hawkwood. Corners bumped, minor aging to some edges. .