Condottiere 1300–1500: Infamous medieval mercenaries

David Murphy

dic 2021 · Bloomsbury Publishing

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Originally contracted by wealthy Italian city states to protect their assets during a time of ceaseless warring, many condottieri of the Italian peninsula became famous for their wealth, venality and amorality during the 14th and 15th centuries. Some even came to rule cities themselves. Lavishly illustrated with contemporary depictions and original artwork, this title examines the complex military organization, recruitment, training and weaponry of the Condottieri. With insight into their origins and motivations, the author, Dr David Murphy, brings together the social, political and military history of these powerful and unscrupulous men who managed to influence Italian society and warfare for over two centuries.

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Dr David Murphy - MA, PhD, FRGS, FRAS - is on the staff of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. He has lectured on a vairety of subjects and periods throughout his academic career. One of his specialist subjects as tutor at University College Dublin was the Medieval and Renaissance period. He has been commissioned by the Military History Trust of Ireland to write a gazeteer of Irish regiments, and as such has good contacts with both national sources and Irish regimental museum collections.

Graham Turner is a leading historical artist, specialising in the medieval period. He has illustrated numerous titles for Osprey, covering a wide variety of subjects from the dress of the 10th-century armies of the Caliphates, through the action of bloody medieval battles, to the daily life of the British Redcoat of the late 18th century. The son of the illustrator Michael Turner, Graham lives and works in Buckinghamshire, UK.