The Golden Age of Free Companies

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  • Опубліковано 25 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 544

  • @SandRhomanHistory
    @SandRhomanHistory  8 місяців тому +87

    The Novel "The White Company" by Arthur Conan Doyle: amzn.to/445P89t
    The best overview of the topic: "Mercenaries and Their Masters" by Michael Mallett: amzn.to/3vR5XZ1
    A good start if you want to investigate the topic more in depth: "The Great Companies" by Kenneth Fowler: amzn.to/3JhbZFl
    If you want to check out our patreon page, click here: www.patreon.com/sandrhomanhistory

    • @Ace-cr9qt
      @Ace-cr9qt 8 місяців тому +2

      I love your videos. Can you do a video on the Varangian guard?

    • @Cahirable
      @Cahirable 8 місяців тому +3

      The second volume of Sumption's series on the Hundred Years' War also has some great bits of information about the routiers before and after they formed into the Great Companies, including a couple of sketches of the ordinary routier, drawn from legal cases prior to their execution.

    • @diegotapia2830
      @diegotapia2830 8 місяців тому +5

      dude in 2012 i did my university thesis about the same theme, "how the XV century italian states regulated their mercenaries" or something like that; and, well we pretty much used the same sources, hell, i was able to get an scan of an actual condotta from the library of milan. also if you can check this book "Renaissance Characters" by eugenio garin, in that book michael mallet wrote a great essay about the topic.

    • @V.B.Squire
      @V.B.Squire 6 місяців тому +2

      From white company to blackwater

  • @planescaped
    @planescaped 8 місяців тому +1537

    Hiring an army to protect you only for them to realize you're completely defenseless without them, and them basically taking over, is such a pro gamer move.

    • @genericpersonx333
      @genericpersonx333 8 місяців тому +142

      Basically What happened to Rome's Republic. They replaced the legions of citizens who paid for themselves with state-financed armies whose generals slowly came to realize they could own the State with judicious use of those armies through their voting and fighting power.

    • @flarvin8945
      @flarvin8945 8 місяців тому +97

      @@genericpersonx333i believe those armies weren't state-financed, but mostly financed by the generals themselves. Which is why the legions were loyal to their general over Rome.

    • @flazzorb
      @flazzorb 8 місяців тому +23

      ​@@flarvin8945_Sorta,_ to my understanding legions were afforded by taxes, however these taxes were paid to the general who was charged with maintaining the legion.

    • @Xo-3130
      @Xo-3130 8 місяців тому +84

      Funny enough this also happened to the Muslim World. Turns out having Slave Armies is a terrible idea when the slaves realize "wait a minute we are the fucking army".

    • @flarvin8945
      @flarvin8945 8 місяців тому +27

      @@flazzorb yes, for the most part soldiers received a base pay from taxes, throughout Rome's republic. But it was usually barely enough to cover expenses. So Roman generals would promise bonuses to secure loyal. The bonuses could be from the generals' personal wealth or from the state, like land. Either way, it was the general that was responsible for securing these bonuses, not the state. And the general who the troops were loyal to. The legions became just another way for the elites of Rome's republic to obtain power, through personal wealth and influence.

  • @robertusaugustus2003
    @robertusaugustus2003 8 місяців тому +95

    The age of the condottieri is criminally underused in fiction, imagine a band of brothers style miniseries following these multinational companies in the late-14th/early-15th century

    • @Cahirable
      @Cahirable 8 місяців тому +16

      Hard to pitch a series about guys as cruel and awful as the condottieri, unless they're Italians fighting the English/Germans/French, and then you lose the non-Italian audiences.
      Seriously, you have no idea how fucked they were. Even the Italians, used to pretty nasty warfare, were horrified by the actions of the Great Companies who came over the Alps in the 1360s.

    • @stephensedlon8414
      @stephensedlon8414 8 місяців тому +4

      I'd definitely watch it!

    • @robbypodobinski824
      @robbypodobinski824 8 місяців тому +1

      100000% ​@@Cahirable

    • @RickJaeger
      @RickJaeger 8 місяців тому +13

      If they can make movies about pirates, they can make them about condottieri. It will probably involve a lot of typical Hollywood changes, though.
      Still, people will watch cruel and awful people doing cruel and awful things on TV, as long as you can pitch it as "salacious" or "gritty."

    • @phineascampbell3103
      @phineascampbell3103 5 місяців тому +1

      I could definitely watch that

  • @SeverusFelix
    @SeverusFelix 8 місяців тому +65

    For some reason a whole bunch of Free Companies got hired in 1444

    • @Mold-E
      @Mold-E 8 місяців тому +19

      It has been historically documented that it was due to preparations of 'The great Decing' on the 12 of December of the same year.
      Which many nations across Europe declared various wars against neighbouring countries.

  • @michaelmcnally9737
    @michaelmcnally9737 8 місяців тому +22

    - These cool dudes need their own videos
    - aww man
    - and that's why we're going to make them
    - HELL YEAH!

  • @danshakuimo
    @danshakuimo 2 місяці тому +106

    Maybe the cure to male loneliness is to join a great company and extort rich cities for gold and plundering the countryside

    • @justin8865
      @justin8865 2 місяці тому +9

      Look how well that worked out for Wagner.

    • @TuckerMasterson-t6i
      @TuckerMasterson-t6i Місяць тому +1

      And big boss

    • @bananaboyTS
      @bananaboyTS 25 днів тому +1

      interesting you mention that because every war is a war againdt women, kinda weird how the "harassment" mentioned certainly contained grapes but its never mentioned

    • @Nugundamsisntforshow
      @Nugundamsisntforshow 22 дні тому +3

      Every war is a war against everyone people don't mention grape because society is squeamish about it as a topic whereas for some reason it's socially acceptable to talk about people killing eachother en masse ​@@bananaboyTS

  • @Hakasedess
    @Hakasedess 7 місяців тому +69

    Me, a fledgling king: Yeah, so I hired a free company to assist us in this new war
    My advisors: My liege, our coffers are rather slim at present, are you sure this is the best idea?
    Me, bewildered: Not to worry, they are a free company.
    My advisors, realizing they backed the wrong horse: ...My liege... that just means they're mercenaries, they still demand payment.

  • @2serveand2protect
    @2serveand2protect 8 місяців тому +20

    Strange phenomenon that some of these "condottieri" who were (in general) often despised, thought as "foreign barbarians" and feared in Italy, at the end became sentimentally attached to the very same city-states they were fighting sometimes against and sometimes for. John Hawkwood for instance wasn't always a soldier - he was also Richard the 2nd's official envoy to the Papal Court. By serving the Italian cities he became a multi-millionaire - Hawkwood however went further. He had a big political influence in the Italian Peninsula, would arbitrate many treaties, and was given many riches, lands and titles - especially from the State of Florence. He was entombed in Santa Maria del Fiore (the biggest & most famous florentine church). There's still a very famous "fresco" depicting him in the very same Church, although his body was sent back to England upon the request of Richard the IInd. What's WEIRD is that him and men like him DEVASTATED the whole countryside and were famous for their ruthlessnes and cruelty - and yet ! - they were welcomed and even revered.

  • @bonzotheclown1612
    @bonzotheclown1612 7 місяців тому +62

    "Mercenaries will see you lay down your life for king and country and say"
    "HAH!, He lacketh the skill to freeboot!"

    • @Hakasedess
      @Hakasedess 7 місяців тому +7

      The same mercenary company mere years later: "Our boss is the king now"
      Many such cases

  • @yegorkhorushko479
    @yegorkhorushko479 8 місяців тому +5

    Yeeeess, more videos on proto-Rennaissance and Renaissance, please! ❤ I'll be waiting for stories about great companies and condottieros, too. Thank you very much 😊

  • @lordInquisitor
    @lordInquisitor 8 місяців тому +21

    The art has gotten particularly GORGEOUS

  • @memesforcomrade7666
    @memesforcomrade7666 8 місяців тому +23

    as an EU4 player I owe many successful campaigns to the free company

    • @GAarcher
      @GAarcher 8 місяців тому +3

      *You did not mention but the great Basileus Ludius Guideos has been know for his extensive employement of such tatics and precise resource allocation, such as the founding of the Commandeos Codex and the thesis of Combateo Widthus*

  • @c.andrew3944
    @c.andrew3944 8 місяців тому +12

    Smoothbrains discuss tactics. Bigbrains discuss logistics. I appreciate your attention to describing the pages and 'backup horses' in cavalry, especially!

  • @cemilkerimli5530
    @cemilkerimli5530 8 місяців тому +101

    Okay then, we learned about free company. But how about grand company and independent army? How much development we need to get them?

    • @LouisAlfieri-n2l
      @LouisAlfieri-n2l 8 місяців тому +9

      Did you not see the video. He covers that in the second half

    • @Ylenen
      @Ylenen 8 місяців тому +32

      ​@@LouisAlfieri-n2lhes talking about eu4 mechanics my guy

    • @winzyl9546
      @winzyl9546 8 місяців тому +2

      Watch the full vid

    • @Avent00
      @Avent00 8 місяців тому

      But what about Free city Company?

    • @uelibinde
      @uelibinde 8 місяців тому

      what abou real companies?

  • @darkmasterchief227
    @darkmasterchief227 8 місяців тому +10

    I love learning about mercenaries, especially these medieval to late/post Renaissance bands of warriors of fortune.

  • @mueezadam8438
    @mueezadam8438 8 місяців тому +5

    I love your animated characters, it’s what caught my eye initially to your siege series

  • @kmystak
    @kmystak 8 місяців тому +8

    Your art is getting better and better! Excellent!

  • @Barwasser
    @Barwasser 8 місяців тому +48

    Ah yes... the Free Companies. 4000 men strong and hired by almost every nation on 11th of November 1444 and thrown into combat after only one month until they ran out of manpower.

    • @WanderingCoyoteXVII
      @WanderingCoyoteXVII 8 місяців тому +11

      Used primarily to manage sieges so the state doesnt waste its own precious manpower.

    • @nathanirick7806
      @nathanirick7806 8 місяців тому +1

      I want to see you, and the horse you rode in on, again!

    • @AHappyCub
      @AHappyCub 8 місяців тому +1

      or higher than 4000 men depending on the size of the state

    • @mastrey
      @mastrey 8 місяців тому +1

      This is a Euiv reference

  • @LarsOfTheMohicans
    @LarsOfTheMohicans 8 місяців тому +40

    The Golden Age Arc, explained via history.

    • @gorkemvids4839
      @gorkemvids4839 3 місяці тому +1

      I can imagine griffith being called against france

  • @reichtanglevictor1694
    @reichtanglevictor1694 8 місяців тому +37

    Best company, even with the -5% army professionalism

    • @GAarcher
      @GAarcher 8 місяців тому +2

      *the great Basileus Ludius Guideos has been know for his extensive employement of such tatics and precise resource allocation, such as the founding of the Commandeos Codex and the thesis of Combateo Widthus*

  • @clintmoor422
    @clintmoor422 8 місяців тому +7

    really cool video. It's refreshing to see you cover topics that have not been done to death! maybe think about covering things about the 18th and 19th centuries too?

  • @PurpleWarlock
    @PurpleWarlock 8 місяців тому +10

    Yay! Merc talk!

  • @Goblinsharkhundredsofthem
    @Goblinsharkhundredsofthem 8 місяців тому +13

    Did y'all commission some new art? Looks rad.

  • @Jawshuah
    @Jawshuah 8 місяців тому +15

    free company = the backbone of my EU4 campaigns.

  • @hlommersottana9236
    @hlommersottana9236 2 місяці тому +42

    Do you make or find these images of soldiers?
    Where can I find them?
    I just want to look at them

    • @BLTZDBANDIT
      @BLTZDBANDIT 2 місяці тому +3

      Personally i use pintrest for dope pics

    • @omarb7164
      @omarb7164 Місяць тому

      I think his channel makes them as this is a distinct art style. Look in his channel there might be posters for sale with images of them

  • @guycalabrese4040
    @guycalabrese4040 8 місяців тому +4

    Yes!!! You made my sunday!!!

  • @akedus44
    @akedus44 8 місяців тому +4

    By god, I was doing research on Mercenary Free Companies for a project I was working on an hour ago and then this video drops.
    Get out of my mind, Rhoman.

  • @b-ss39
    @b-ss39 29 днів тому +5

    Would you ever do a video on how medieval/renaissance people overcame language barriers? I find it ever interesting hearing these stories of traveling Mercinaries, Merchants, Crusaidors and Vagabonds, however, I do wander how people traveled and survived pre-duolingo.

  • @RIlianP
    @RIlianP 8 місяців тому +14

    Some of the later mercenary corps like the Black Army of Hungary show how mercenary work evolved in the early modern period, from "free companies" to "great companies" to "state sponsored mercenary companies" as more and more rulers preferred to hire mercenaries initially as a supplement and later entirely incorporate them as a state armies. It was one of the greatest, if not the greatest mercenary force to ever existed, and one of the largest, as it grew to around 28 000 people. The early modern period, is not the most famous periods in history, however it was the golden age of the mercenaries, even more so than the late medieval and the period, the Swiss mercenaries, Landsknechts, Stratioti, Gallowglass, and others flourished during that period, especially during the Thirty Year war. Other notable mercenary leaders, besides the aforementioned were Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen aka Götz of the Iron Hand, Peter Hagendorf, Georg von Frundsberg, Giuseppe Garibaldi and many more, hell even René Descartes served as mercenary at one point.

    • @onri_
      @onri_ 8 місяців тому

      I would Imagine Hannibal barca mercenary army had one of the Preeminent mercenary armies.

  • @samsonsoturian6013
    @samsonsoturian6013 8 місяців тому +13

    The "Great Companies" reminds me of the second Norse Siege of Paris. Unlike the previous attack many decades before, these men had no leader and the mob formed around a small company of Norse intending on a quick punitive raid on Paris. The mayor of Paris came out to negotiate and asked "Who is your King." The reply was "We are all Kings."
    Same behavior, different era.

  • @townazier
    @townazier 8 місяців тому +5

    Looking forward to the three companies' videos!

  • @josephwagner7759
    @josephwagner7759 Місяць тому +5

    Loving your videos, reminds me so much of the documentaries I used to watch as a child.

  • @JessieHera
    @JessieHera 2 місяці тому +61

    So basically, it was mount and blade warband but in real life?

  • @humanitysdownfall3225
    @humanitysdownfall3225 7 місяців тому +7

    Just discovers this channel and omg the content looks promising! I’m a huge history nerd/fan for anything before the 1800s so these videos will definitely be watched multiple times over. Amazing artwork and storytelling 10/10 :)

  • @imtheman84
    @imtheman84 3 місяці тому +57

    I will never be part of a mercenary company
    I will never take loot from my fallen enemies
    I will never lay down on the grass with my brothers while we count the gold coins
    I will never experience the feeling of one last silent groan escaping my mouth as I fall in battle because some demented fuck ordered us to charge against a wall of bowmen.
    Why live?

    • @danthelowblood2653
      @danthelowblood2653 2 місяці тому +23

      Is the cure to male loneliness forming a mercenary concern with your boys?

    • @lordbeetrot
      @lordbeetrot 2 місяці тому +1

      @@danthelowblood2653Yes.

    • @HunterAnsorge-ok9jk
      @HunterAnsorge-ok9jk 2 місяці тому

      Because death is a sign of weakness

    • @yeng1855
      @yeng1855 2 місяці тому +1

      ​@@HunterAnsorge-ok9jk Oh, we're all going to die kiddo. Some just sooner than others.

    • @HunterAnsorge-ok9jk
      @HunterAnsorge-ok9jk 2 місяці тому

      @@yeng1855 I dunno about you but “I’ll rise up just as I did 1000 times before.”

  • @justonethrowaway
    @justonethrowaway 8 місяців тому +9

    just wanted to say thank you guys so much for making these truly incredible videos. you really do make my days better, and help me calm down when i can’t even get out of bed from my anxiety of the everyday. once im in a better place financially i will be making a donation, lord knows this channel has been invaluable to me

  • @ajiibshah3760
    @ajiibshah3760 6 місяців тому +22

    These are the OP units of early game Manorlords

  • @lolliedeman
    @lolliedeman 8 місяців тому +4

    I really enjoyed this videa! Quite uniwue material you got here, instead of hearing and seeing the same things over and over again. Great Job!~looking forward to the next video's about the indiividual companies!

  • @Snekbeard
    @Snekbeard Місяць тому +5

    love the style of this video subbed and hope to see more

  •  8 місяців тому +5

    Free Companies, spreading the "goodness" (sarcasm) of the Hundred Years' War throughout Europe, as if it were a religion (the best example of mercenarianism in the Middle Ages, for me). XD
    It was an excellent topic, and it makes for more videos (as you mentioned when listing the best-known examples of Free Companies); but for me, in the case of the Catalans, what really deserves more attention is not so much the Company of Robert de Flor, but the history of the unity that made up the majority of his company and that was fundamental for the Kingdom of Aragon expanded into the Mediterranean (even conquering the city of Athens, as you mentioned), I am referring to the Almogávares. Their history is very interesting and the campaigns they carried out in the Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia, Sicily and Southern Italy were also impressive; They were able to defeat cavalry only using javelins, short swords and crossbows, and their war cry was "Desperta Ferro!" (Awaken iron) while they caused sparks by striking flints with their weapons. His most famous battle was the one that ended in the conquest of the Duchy of Athens, the Battle of the Cephisus River on March 16, 1311, and his passage through Greece is known to this day as "The Catalan Fury."

  • @mitch7235
    @mitch7235 8 місяців тому +6

    I really like the new art style you’re using for this video!😁❤️!

  •  8 місяців тому +3

    Great video, thank you kindly! Looking forward to the next installments of the serie :D

  • @Denasgurman
    @Denasgurman 8 місяців тому +15

    Routier
    in french, means Roadman,
    it comes from Route = Road
    We still use those words today, a "routier" is a truck driver nowaday.

  • @memofromessex
    @memofromessex 8 місяців тому

    That was perhaps your best video yet. You were clear amd I learnt more than I thought I would

  • @vertigq5126
    @vertigq5126 8 місяців тому +3

    This was great, I never knew Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about the mercenaries! Thanks for discussing the size and infantry-cavalry tactics, too. Awesome video

  • @Byerly2k20
    @Byerly2k20 6 місяців тому +33

    A really cool thing I know about my family history is that my whatever X Great Grandfather worked as a mercenary captain and was hired by King Henry VIII.

    • @UtopiaV1
      @UtopiaV1 6 місяців тому +1

      You're also descended from Charlemagne

    • @Byerly2k20
      @Byerly2k20 6 місяців тому +3

      @@UtopiaV1 lol I haven't gone back that far.

    • @bosknight7837
      @bosknight7837 5 місяців тому +1

      My family name actually comes from a Landsknecht mercenary ancestor. Pretty cool

    • @JustinRM20
      @JustinRM20 5 місяців тому +2

      That is cool! I am actually the great great grandson of Henry VIII. I will ask my grandfather abouty our grandfather.

    • @Byerly2k20
      @Byerly2k20 5 місяців тому +4

      Btw here's my source in case people are interested.
      This is July of 1513
      Payments.-July 11: Wages of three captains named Anthony Rot, Wendell van Brussell and Hans Buser, with their officers and men (rates detailed).
      Hans Buser 1490- circa 1536
      I'll copy paste the website link when I'm at my computer later. It's not working on mobile

  • @medievalist8441
    @medievalist8441 8 місяців тому +6

    I hope you make a series on those mercenary companies cause they sure do have complex histories

  • @grizzlyowlbear3538
    @grizzlyowlbear3538 6 місяців тому +42

    Those free companies sure were more pricey than their name would suggest

    • @Hailstrumm
      @Hailstrumm 5 місяців тому +1

      free as in standalone i belive

    • @MrMrtvozornik
      @MrMrtvozornik 3 місяці тому +1

      Free companies=companies for free.
      Unless you know that, and you assume we know that, so you're making an ironic joke counting on us knowing that what you just said was too absurd to be serious.

    • @grizzlyowlbear3538
      @grizzlyowlbear3538 3 місяці тому +5

      You guys are no fun at all

    • @MrMrtvozornik
      @MrMrtvozornik 3 місяці тому

      @@grizzlyowlbear3538 Hey man, I accounted for the irony in your statement, give me some credit. In everyone's defense, voice tone and body language is very important for picking up hints of irony, only way to simulate that over the internet would be usage of emojis.

  • @SmolFly
    @SmolFly 7 місяців тому +11

    Children are cruel Sir Jack, and thee is very in touch with thy inner squire!

  • @LunarBulletDev
    @LunarBulletDev 7 місяців тому +8

    Man your channel is amazing thanks for these videos

  • @christianweibrecht6555
    @christianweibrecht6555 8 місяців тому +4

    mercenaries, a great way to ensure rich people have total power

  • @josephbrandenburg4373
    @josephbrandenburg4373 2 місяці тому +15

    1:20 obviously because the Free Companies went all in on Hand Cannons and the Condos shredded them with their anti-gunpowder bonus

  • @wiktorberski9272
    @wiktorberski9272 8 місяців тому +6

    Really well presented story from the past

  • @AndreaFasani
    @AndreaFasani 8 місяців тому +3

    I don't know if there's an english version of "Knights, mercenaries and cannons" by Marco Scardigli, but if you like to know more about most of the wars and military changes in Italy from 1300 to 1527 it's a great book!

  • @jankomilosavljevic8466
    @jankomilosavljevic8466 7 місяців тому +17

    So this is how Bethesda got the idea for their horse armor DLC.

  • @WoutBr
    @WoutBr 8 місяців тому +15

    Fun fact: the Belgian national anthem is called "de Brabançonne"
    Brabançonne is also another name for the region (and modern provinces) Brabant in Belgium en Netherlands

  • @TRLHistory
    @TRLHistory 8 місяців тому +5

    Not as famous as the English or Germans, but people from the Balkans also served frequently in the Italian mercenary companies. After Louis the Great briefly conquered Naples in the 1340s, Hungarian mercenaries were to serve in Italy in the next century. Folk hero Toldi Miklos and the famous general John Hunyadi were two most well known figures who spent at least a few years campaigning in Italy.

    • @r.anthony8685
      @r.anthony8685 8 місяців тому +4

      Also the stradioti (Albanians, Greeks)

  • @CollegeHistorian
    @CollegeHistorian 8 місяців тому +9

    The story telling, the animations in this channel are amazing. A true inspiration to small history youtubers like myself

  • @iseeyou5061
    @iseeyou5061 8 місяців тому +3

    2:00 The crossbow guy move his head! I see the animation is getting updated.

  • @The88Cheat
    @The88Cheat 8 місяців тому

    I can’t wait for the videos of the different great companies!!!

  • @petrapetrakoliou8979
    @petrapetrakoliou8979 8 місяців тому +9

    No. Route means road in French and in Latin. Even today. Hence "Routiers", those who stand on the road.

    • @thibs2837
      @thibs2837 8 місяців тому +1

      Absolutely, btw in France we still call "routiers" the truckers who work daily on the route (road)

  • @tequilawatcher2177
    @tequilawatcher2177 3 місяці тому +30

    Isn't routier the french word for highway man? since well, in french routier means that...

  • @UCannotDefeatMyShmeat
    @UCannotDefeatMyShmeat 4 місяці тому +60

    Mount and blade: warband lore

  • @dubbyx8490
    @dubbyx8490 8 місяців тому +4

    Hurrah for Mercenaries!

  • @redlightg27
    @redlightg27 7 місяців тому +9

    I LOVE the illustrations of the armors seen here.

  • @pabloandres-uu9jm
    @pabloandres-uu9jm 7 місяців тому +26

    Swiss Guard from Switzerland.
    Almogavars from Spain.
    Landsknechter from Deutschland.

    • @HungryLoki
      @HungryLoki 7 місяців тому +4

      It would be more appropriate to say "Ryslaifer from Switzerland" (german Reisläufer, literally "rice marcher").
      The Swiss guard were mercenaries from Switzerland, true, but they exclusively served the papacy, so they weren't truly for hire like other mercenary groups that would just follow the highest bidder.

    • @thatswissdude5949
      @thatswissdude5949 7 місяців тому +2

      @@HungryLoki The reis in Reisläufer is a version of the word Reise, and does in this context not mean rice but rather travelling this is future proven by the other name these swiss mercenaries had which was Reisige.

  • @jobe5514
    @jobe5514 8 місяців тому +20

    Tsardoms: Total War mod for Medieval 2 Total War. Download it, install it, play one of the Italian City-States and enjoy.

    • @maguimnobbao1433
      @maguimnobbao1433 8 місяців тому

      Florença um dos melhores rolê plays com a família Médice

  • @Arcadius-ss3zp
    @Arcadius-ss3zp 8 місяців тому +1

    Love your work. Keep going. Just curious, what will the next video's topic be about?

  • @Duxmamalakis
    @Duxmamalakis 8 місяців тому +1

    I really admire your content.

  • @JohnDoe-ug3su
    @JohnDoe-ug3su 8 місяців тому +1

    Thank you. I have been asking this theme to many historical channels

  • @vinz4066
    @vinz4066 8 місяців тому

    I was just watching your medival Videos and all of a sudden there is a new one. Nice.

  • @MM22966
    @MM22966 8 місяців тому +2

    Another factor probably at work toward the gradual regularization of the whole business is that when soldiers get older, they start looking for a place to retire and settle down. Whether that is a gift a land and a regular commission from a kingdom or city-state, or the coupe of an employer and the enthroning of a mercenary captain (i.e. the Sfrorza dukes of Milan). A modern example is "Mad Mike" Hoare and Bob Denard of the African brushfire wars. Both attempted or succeed in taking over small countries in their later years.

  • @MBP1918
    @MBP1918 8 місяців тому +3

    The Condotterei were rather distinguished as one of the most interesting mercenary groups in the Renaissance

  • @piggypoo
    @piggypoo 8 місяців тому +8

    Band of the Hawk

  • @Fawnkay
    @Fawnkay 8 місяців тому +1

    The illuatrative art is gorgeous in this episode. Congratulations! Thank you very much for your work.

  • @Cataphract1236
    @Cataphract1236 8 місяців тому +6

    Wow, i'm loving the new art.

  • @silentone11111111
    @silentone11111111 8 місяців тому +2

    Interesting vid 😀

  • @mancroft
    @mancroft 8 місяців тому +1

    Excellent. Thank you. Lovely artwork.

  • @christopheryoung2874
    @christopheryoung2874 8 місяців тому +2

    Great video!

  • @TantheTaxman
    @TantheTaxman 8 місяців тому +1

    great video!

  • @Brabantian
    @Brabantian 6 місяців тому +12

    Brabancons mentioned 🔥🔥🔥

    • @Exar19
      @Exar19 6 місяців тому +1

      Harba lori fa !

  • @80xlulz
    @80xlulz 8 місяців тому +12

    They did the usual PR stunt:
    renaming their brand

  • @WissHH-
    @WissHH- 8 місяців тому +2

    Less than 1 min uploaded and aready made my day.

  • @Sharnoy1
    @Sharnoy1 8 місяців тому +5

    Notably this video is NOT sponsored by Manor Lords.

  • @davewilisner
    @davewilisner 8 місяців тому +1

    Hammervideo!!! Wie immer...mach wiiter so👍🏻

  • @jeremiahsafford1389
    @jeremiahsafford1389 8 місяців тому +6

    4:07 What is that heraldry?

  • @bigsarge2085
    @bigsarge2085 8 місяців тому +2

    Fascinating!

  • @welcometonebalia
    @welcometonebalia 8 місяців тому +1

    Thank you.

  • @Fatherofheroesandheroines
    @Fatherofheroesandheroines 8 місяців тому +4

    Mercenaries have been around for centuries. However the Free Companies were far and away different.

  • @noone4700
    @noone4700 8 місяців тому +2

    I love the story of the White Company, keeping the legend of traveling Germanic warriors alive well into the 14-15th century

  • @openclassusa3534
    @openclassusa3534 8 місяців тому

    EXCELLENT VIDEO!!

  • @benm5913
    @benm5913 8 місяців тому +2

    Commenting for algorithm because you deserve it.

  • @dembro27
    @dembro27 8 місяців тому +7

    Free company: *not free, you gotta pay*
    😡

  • @staraskolamedvea9173
    @staraskolamedvea9173 8 місяців тому +12

    what was a pay per lance? how much money was needed to hire 100 mercenaries?

    • @houtenhekje8375
      @houtenhekje8375 8 місяців тому +5

      I think this depends on alot of factor but i'd guess anywhere from 0.5 shilling to 2 shillings could be "average"

    • @mydogbullwinkle
      @mydogbullwinkle 8 місяців тому

      ​@houtenhekje8375 😂 yea, but it better be a short battle.

    • @christianmorris5292
      @christianmorris5292 8 місяців тому +5

      Lmao, are you looking to hire?

  • @pendantblade6361
    @pendantblade6361 8 місяців тому +7

    I too play Battle Brothers.

    • @ArkhonXIX
      @ArkhonXIX 8 місяців тому

      What a great game and a sleeper for most

  • @crazyviking24
    @crazyviking24 8 місяців тому +8

    Free Companies seldom come cheap.

  • @ndjock
    @ndjock 2 місяці тому +20

    Route=Road, like for "highway" robbers

    • @flatheadgg2443
      @flatheadgg2443 2 місяці тому +4

      Makes sense we have a similar word in german "wegelagerer" literally translated "path campers" but it is pretty much used in the same way discribing a band of roaming bandits.

  • @Mrkabrat
    @Mrkabrat 8 місяців тому +5

    I do hope the Navarrese Company gets its own video, however small it may be

  • @morpheus2615
    @morpheus2615 28 днів тому +6

    I love that the middle ages and the ages after that were the most free ones meanwhile most people were living under Monarchy which is actually pretty authoritarian

    • @jackakakreanxx5587
      @jackakakreanxx5587 22 дні тому +2

      Unlike current governments middle age monarchies couldn't exercise as much power due to less advanced technology

  • @jberg3447
    @jberg3447 3 місяці тому +24

    It's insane to me to think how dumb it's is to hire out ur protection without having a main army of some sort and have to rely solely on people with no loyalty other than to $

    • @eshanroveran7850
      @eshanroveran7850 2 місяці тому +11

      I mean.... that’s how you live isn’t it? That’s how 99% of people in the western world live.
      The cops and the army only do what they do for money and benefits. Not that there’s anything wrong with that
      But how is that insane? Every single day you wake up you are living that “insane” reality of relying on other people who are motivated by money for protection.

    • @galaxyknuckles9000
      @galaxyknuckles9000 2 місяці тому +4

      They had no choice. Wealth and technology wasn’t as exclusive as Europes overall wealth/technology grew..people stopped fighting for free and began freelancing and seeking more personal gain.

    • @jberg3447
      @jberg3447 2 місяці тому

      I wasn't asking a question their professor dip shit

    • @yeng1855
      @yeng1855 2 місяці тому

      ​@@eshanroveran7850I am 21 and this is deep. 😌