Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1258433
The mercenaries came back into popularity during the dark ages. After Constantinople was conquered by the 4th crusade, the Byzantine Empire got itself divided into several smaller sta- te organisms. The long-running conflicts between the individual regions of the Latin Empire and lack of an option to recruit the locals (with the Byzantine empires doubting the fighting spirit of theirs) created a demand for qualified warriors who would be independent of the feudal connections. Greece, following the 4th Crusade, was a land of unrest. However, it was much closer and safer than the Holy Land, during the times of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Similarly to the crusaders' kingdom, it also created chances to get rich and boost one's career. Hence, numerous European rebels began their careers there. Back in 1302, the soldiers of the Catalan Company, as a result of a peace treaty in Catabellota, between the employer of theirs, Frederic II, the King of Sicily, and the Anjou dynasty, were forced to leave their service and find a new source of income. Following the lead of Roger de Flor, the former Templar, the company was hired by the Byzantine Emperor, Andronikos II Palaiologos. This marked the beginning of the existence of mercenary units viewed as business entities spe- cializing in warfare. During the upcoming period Europe was saturated with con- flicts, thus becoming a proving ground for organizations as such, led by the condottieres. The organizations such as the Great Company, involving 3,000 Italian wars veterans of Ger- man origin, the White Company (comprised of Hundred Years' War veterans), Compagna Della Stella, Compagna Della Rosa, and St. George's company, led by Antonio de Barbiano, became an academy for prominent commanders (Muzio Attendolo, Brac- cio da Montone, Ugolotto Biancardo, Jacopo dal Verme, Facino Cane, Ottobuono de' Terzi). Thanks to the experience they have gathered and education based on ancient Roman textbooks, as well as the legal-eco- nomic circumstances, with easy access to qualified per- sonnel, contracting as the primary source of income and lack of feudal associations, the condottie- res have introduced the ele- ment of science into the early Rena- i s s a n c e www.fragoutmag.com