Condottieri: Most Sought-After Mercenary Captains of the Renaissance

[@milkbaologist5610]

Mercenary Captain: -10% recruitment cost, +10% income from raiding settlements

[@Swedishmafia101MemeCorporation]

+50% DRIP

[@cjthebeesknees]

+25% Mamon favor

[@sojalemmi1515]

I hated getting the mercenary captain. Took away a spot for me to get someone really cool later on in life when I was kicking ass

[@anon2034]

Medieval 2 Total War?

[@mitchellanderson3960]

​@@sojalemmi1515in SS you can swap certain retinue items between characters, mercenary capt was good for a general at unit recruitment center with other unit discount perks and a crusader on a sacking war path to the objective settlement.

[@eclipse_war5009]

I really like the armours that those captains are portrayed with

[@Stark10Winter]

look up for italian milanese armor bro

[@Swedishmafia101MemeCorporation]

Drip is paramount for warfare, milord

[@QuantumHistorian]

The difference between the "Sforza" and "Montone" schools looks eerily like the differences between Macedonian-style Phalanx, and Roman-style maniples. Not in equipment, but in the difference between a strong but rigid monolithic formation; and smaller but more flexible rotating ones. Coincidence because there are limited ways of organising heavy melee infantry, or a conscious Renaissance inspiration from antiquity?

[@MarceloHenriqueSoaresdaSilva]

Its just the natural evolution of warfare as even high middle ages europe (especially with the XII renaissance) have access to ancient graeco-roman military knowledge before the italian renaissance.

[@MarceloHenriqueSoaresdaSilva]

^ another thng is that time ERE existed so the europeans are pretty familiarized with Roman tactics and organization fairly early

[@QuantumHistorian]

@@MarceloHenriqueSoaresdaSilva The ERE had moved away from maniples and cohorts a thousand years before Condottiere appeared. It may have been useful in keeping manuscripts alive, but it was not a living example of that type of warfare.

[@Unomaximus]

SandRhoman you will always be the most consistent and original historical youtuber out here 👍 thank you

[@philRminiatures]

The armors of this periods are awesome...Great video as usual, informative and so pleasant to watch!

[@stewlew8449]

Colleoni didn't go unnoticed by me. I sat at the restaurant in that square eating my gnocchi to notice his coat of arms had three testicles on it

[@anon2034]

He was a ballsy dude for sure!

[@gabrielboi3465]

By legend he was in fact owner of three testicles. But thats just a legend. Its unsure why his family name is Colleoni (litteraly balls, testicles) but it appears they were never ashamed of it and used their heraldic symbol proudly!

[@anon2034]

@@gabrielboi3465 Being a mercenary itself means he's a balls-to-the-wall type. :)

[@BellumCinematicsTotalWar]

Find someone who will love you as much as SandRoman History loves mercenary companies

[@Dayvit78]

And sieges....

[@sirwolfnsuch]

Good video, as always

[@tommasobianchi5496]

Just a couple of notes about Giovanni delle Bande Nere, he was a Medici, member of a cadet branch of the ruling family of Florence, his real name was Ludovico di Giovanni De’ Medici and his mother was Caterina Sforza, lady of Forlì and parent to the Sforza of Milan, in fact his uncle was the Duke of Milan. Bande Nere means Black Stripes, the name came from the shields of his soldiers who started to use them after the Pope Leo X died, he was another member of the Medici family. The son of Giovanni, Cosimo, became the first great Duke of Tuscany and is still considered one of the most important figures of the history of Florence

[@Boric78]

This series has been very good. I learnt a lot.

[@bigsarge2085]

Fascinating, I truly appreciate these documentaries!

[@benm5913]

I always appreciate the Early Modern content. You guys are great.

[@GabrielBelmont4727]

The pictures are outstanding in this one!

[@indridcold1689]

Always a good dag when sandroman uploads.

[@thcdreams654]

Another great video. Informative, entertaining, interesting and well produced. Thank you.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

This problem still exists with arms procurement because of the extreme risks suppliers demand fat profit margins. In one case, Raytheon randomly received an order for rockets so on they no longer had anyone on staff that had made them before and they were obligated to provide them

[@michaelrredford]

Thanks!

[@DrRedpanda]

Fascinating glimpse into the world of the condottieri! Their blend of skill and unpredictability truly shaped Italy's military landscape. It's amazing how these mercenary leaders turned the tide of battles and influenced political alliances for centuries. Makes you wonder about the power dynamics in modern warfare!.I also have a history channel and I hope everyone can check it out and give me some feedback so I can improve myself.

[@AAkCN1]

Cool video! Thanks

[@Mrkabrat]

"Mercenaries and their Masters" seems like an interesting book, maybe I should ge my hands on it

[@TitusCastiglione1503]

It is. It’s very good.

[@jacobkonick8889]

Wonderful job!

[@brokenbridge6316]

Nicely informative video

[@d.m.collins1501]

Make more videos about the Fortebraccios, please! Heck, maybe make a video about Montone, which is still a beautiful little medieval town and deserves a video about its history, especially with the Fortebraccio family but heck, also about WWII.

[@VainerCactus0]

Awesome video, thanks.

[@Green0-3]

Descendant of Braccio here. If you need some muscle, Sand, lemme know. I'll go get the boys.

[@rudman97]

Geovanni Giustiniani Longo The fugitive, notorious condottieri and his team that Constantinople could offer against the Janissary army of Mehmed the Conqueror.

[@narkerns]

Great stuff, as always :)

[@Unomaximus]

Thanks!

[@blake-81]

Watching this, my brain was constantly going "Hmm.... yes, is this the late-to-end game of Mount & Blade, or Battle Brothers." :P

[@ramiromen6595]

Carmagnola is my personal fav: he walked the walk from child soldier all the way to count and almost duke of Milan. Then he was killed for greed but such is life.

[@vardekpetrovic9716]

Werner of Urslingen was so famous for his missdeeds that in Swedish a person that behaves in such bad manners are called a "Usling". Quote from L Petri "Hans barn fare hwswill och tigge, och sökte berning såsom vslingar." Note that before the spelling reforms of Gustav Vasa the "U" Sound was spelled with a V instead, like in classical latin.

[@Greatbattlehistory]

i like your content in this video

[@clintmoor422]

so, this is the continuation of the mercenary company videos?

[@goober-112]

This might be slightly out of the period-scope of your channel, but I've always wanted to see a documentary-type video covering the Polish Lancers (or Uhlans), and no, I am NOT referring to the "Winged Hussars". I'm talking about the true rivals to the Cossacks, and the only unit to ever be a match for them- often being used by Russia, Austria, Prussia, even France (under Napoleon) to keep the Cossacks in check. And since you have done a video about the Cossacks, I think it'd be interesting. Polish Lancers are really an underrated unit in history, often forgotten.

[@katon44]

that's one from anty poland's history account (might be wrong,there're a few similar history's account like this one) - keep away from mentioning about poland's history as long as possible

[@justinhess2747]

Interesting content on mercenaries

[@incorrectbeans]

No one: My brain: The Golden Age of Conductors

[@Levacque]

The advertisement I got on this video was possibly the most ironic possible match KZbin could make for a mercenary video - it started with the quote, "This is a support group for men's mental health." Is it too much of a stretch to think that 14th century men would see career soldiery as a healthy mental exercise?

[@lerneanlion]

Have there ever be incidents where the Condottieri decided to seize powers for themselves and establish hegemony over the city-states they seized as alternative for payments in fashion similar to Muhammad Ali of Egypt centuries later? If so, how long did they last?

[@joshuawiest5091]

There are a number of instances of Condottiere seizing power of various cities. Niccolò Piccinino seized power over Bologna in 1442, after making a deal with the Pope. He was ousted in 1443 by Annibale Bentivoglio, and the Bentivogleschi faction. Braccio del Montone was carving out an empire for himself before he was stopped by Jacapo Caldora at l'Aquila. Francesco Sforza conquered a large part of the Marche before the Pope and Francesco Maria Visconti took back most of his holdings. That's just a few.

[@v4enthusiast541]

It didn't happen in Italy, but there is the case of the notorious Catalan company that got hired in the 1270s by Byzantium. They ended up occupying the area around Athens for ~50 years.

[@NoName-hg6cc]

Italians states had enough money to build a citizens army. But since there was not foreign threat (yet) they thought it was more convenient to pay for mercenaries. When a threat arrived, France, called by Milan Duke, they were still bickering. It was only when the King of France passed throught Italy with ease Signori understood the danger and united (well, kinda) to win a battle of Fornovo (the King was able to escape but it left everything and had to escape in the night). It didn't last. When foreigners returned, Italians didn't unite again and Italy fell under the foot of foreign powers until 1800

[@samsonsoturian6013]

The difference between a merc and a soldier is a middleman. Italian states were more like corporations than nations and the security contractors they hired sometimes really were loyal to the company

[@LAHFaust]

​@@samsonsoturian6013exactly. Just before the timeline of this video, Friedrich II would spend practically his entire reign fighting against Lombard states which used mostly civilian militias instead of mercenaries. I wouldn't be surprised if the demographic shock from the nearly 2 centuries of fighting off the HRE was a factor in the decision to switch to mercenary forces.

[@KaiHung-wv3ul]

@@LAHFaust Also not just fighting the HRE, while the north Italian city states were pretty unified when fighting Barbarossa, by the time of Freddy II they are as often as not fighting each other between the supporters of the Emperor and the Pope.

[@poil8351]

there were a couple of exceptions in particular Genoa and Venice who made use of their own citizens soldiers especially at sea becuase both had fairly large colonial interests and large fleets and need to defend them.

[@NoName-hg6cc]

@@samsonsoturian6013 I don't know if I can agree with your definition of Italian states as corporations, but you are right some troops were loyal

[@christiann.1541]

I really like this time period about the Italian city states.

[@EzekielDeLaCroix]

oh hell yeah, I love studying medieval and renaissance racketeering.

[@cjthebeesknees]

Ain’t sh*t changed, if you’d direct your attention to: Plausible Deniability please.

[@EzekielDeLaCroix]

@@cjthebeesknees *beats up*

[@cjthebeesknees]

@@EzekielDeLaCroix good goy, here’s 30 silver shekels.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Not necessarily a racket. Many of these companies were loyal to specific states

[@samsonsoturian6013]

​@cjthebeesknees what are you talking about?

[@Visavislespoir]

Cool vid

[@Arcadius-ss3zp]

Love your work. It always keeps me interested in history, especially in military history. Please continue with single battles videos or videos focusing on armies like the Spanish Army of Flanders from the 80 years war. Love your dedication to your work, keep it up.

[@NoPantsBaby]

Imagine being alive in those times. You're just sitting around having a drink in your local ale house in Bavaria. Suddenly a dude on a horse rides along telling you to sign up for his private army, he needs you to help him sack Florence.

[@theguy442]

They are also a good unique unit against gunpowder units in the imperial age.

[@diebesgrab]

So in other words, Condottieri were part-time contractors.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Some were, others were not.

[@ShyamRamkumar-s3r]

What is the name of the background music at 9:30?

[@jonathanwilliams1065]

His name sounds like he’s going to mark you an offer you can’t refuse

[@ciuyr2510]

Honeyed cat. Now thats a nickname

[@GarfieldRex]

Was handsome John Hawkwood's White Company and the 100 years war an influence for Griffith in Berserk? :v

[@TitusCastiglione1503]

Probably yes

[@Thraim.]

Venice never saw a mercenary group they didn't want to hire 😂

[@ScarletRebel96]

Wish mercenary work was still common these days

[@Mon_Idle]

Was that Roman looking knight armour historical at that time?

[@samsonsoturian6013]

That is not remotely Roman

[@Mon_Idle]

@@samsonsoturian6013 yea but you know what I mean it got them leather flaps and stuff

[@Mojo-IRE]

I haven't gotten to watch this yet (love the channel) but I'd wager a certain Mr Hawkwood will get a mention.

[@seanculligan8592]

I live in Emilia-Romagna. I guess that during the golden age of condottieri Bologna was always a part of the papal states?

[@TitusCastiglione1503]

Yes, I think so.

[@ronnychristenjoyer6778]

The urge to play as a mercenary leader in CK3 intensifies

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Screw that game

[@beepboop204]

[@michaelmcnally9737]

Contractors used to fight wars. Now all they do is build houses.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

The only difference between a merc and a soldier is a middleman.

[@MBP1918]

The cowboys of Italy

[@alessandrofiorella6530]

The map at 5:51 isn’t correct

[@chan-seogim5825]

Which part?

[@MM22966]

Maybe someday they'll build a statue of Prigozhin the same way they did famous Italian condottieri! Pffffftt!!! Hahahahhahaha!

[@francescomaccioni3460]

👍

[@elshebactm6769]

🗿👍

[@mariushunger8755]

Soo, they were italian landsknechts?

[@poil8351]

um no the landskenchts were far more brutal and ruthless.

[@warweezel]

😒 “warlords” 😏 “military entrepreneurs”

[@samsonsoturian6013]

One subtle factor is Italy was both wealthy and broken to the point where private corporations often overshadow geographically defined states

[@alepaz1099]

"...He was thrown out of a window" 🤔 sounds vaguely Russian 🤷‍♂

[@iseeyou5061]

18:11 Another case of Italian and Sicilian divde 💀

[@smoath]

.

[@gobanito]

Condottieri, Arguably the most unreliable and most treacherous fighting men in history.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Don't let reputations obscure facts

[@TheEudaemonicPlague]

Either you're using "AI" images, or have an artist who can't do horses right. Many of the images look weird...so, which is it, "AI", or incompetent artist? Most of the images are ok, but that guy who appears on a brown horse that shows up several times I think, but I noticed the problem horse at 19:00. The background is peculiar, too. I hope it isn't a human...if it is, they ought to be embarrassed.

[@paulbukowiecki1213]

Have you seen the people as well some of the side characters are weird it's more for reference than reality. The main thing would be the gear they wear and the faces being accurate. Everything else feels like the art of the time period.