Osprey - General Military - Knight - The Warrior and ... - Brego-weard

he way in which armies and garrisons were
recruited during the Hundred Years War
ensured that when peace broke out in 1360
there were large numbers of soldiers, unemployed
and without prospects, loose in the realm of France.
These banded together, forming independent
companies who made war on their own account,
seeking to keep themselves fed and paid. Whilst
most of these routiers were reabsorbed into the
English and French forces for the Castilian campaign
and the resumption of hostilities in 1370, a
substantial number had made their way south,
entering a new theatre: that of Italy. Here they joined
Italians, Germans and other professional soldiers
as condottiere, men under contract.
Perhaps the most famous of these was Sir John
Hawkwood. It is probable that, after initially being
apprenticed as a tailor, he began his military career
as an archer in the Breton campaigns of 1342-43,
perhaps serving alongside his neighbours in the
retinue of the Earl of Northampton. He may have
served in the Hundred Years War on the Crecy
campaign in 1346 and at Poitiers in 1356, but he
does not appear in the sources until the Treaty of
Bretigny brought a temporary peace between France
and England in 1360.
Hawkwood was a member of the largest of the
bands of unemployed soldiers that ravaged France
during this period, the Great Company, which
focused its attention on the city of Avignon, home to
Pope Innocent VI. Here they effectively held the
pontiff to ransom until they were bought off and split
up, part heading for the war in Castile and the rest
crossing the Alps into Italy, serving Innocent in his
war against the lord of Milan.
Hawkwood went to Italy, serving as one of 19
corporals - the term used for a fully armoured
man-at-arms - in an English company under the
command of the German captain Albert Sterz. They
quickly gained a reputation for fighting on foot, with
a ferocity unusual for foreign mercenaries, being
highly manoeuvrable and having a talent for night
attacks, traits that Hawkwood was to continue to
show throughout his career. They also became
known for rapaciousness, supplementing their
contracted income by raiding the lands and extorting
money from the towns through which they passed.
In 1363 the White Company, as this band was
called, was contracted by Pisa for its war against
Florence. After initial successes, in which the
company once again proved itself, the city of Pisa
elected Hawkwood to be captain of their entire
army. From here his career went from strength to
strength and, whilst not always militarily successful,
the captain nonetheless showed himself to have a
good strategic eye. He also showed great cunning
(perhaps the origin for the Italian rendering of his
surname, Acuto, meaning 'the sharp or astute'),
a quality essential in the politically charged warfare
of Italy. The same astuteness was to serve him in
good stead personally. He was as able to intimidate
and negotiate a victory as win one on the field, and
used the same tactics for his own personal gain -
cities that failed to be his friend often paid the price
when his companies raided their territory. Moreover
he was able to ride the currents of Italian's shifting
alliances for his own personal ends. He switched
allegiance from the Duchy of Milan to the Papacy in
1372, and returned to the duchy's service in 1377,
and finally contracted with Florence to lead its