The golden age of mercenaries

The golden age of mercenaries

Between the mid-thirteenth and mid-fifteenth centuries, Italian city-states abandoned citizen militaries for militaries composed of mercenaries: foreign soldiers for hire. So dramatic was the switch that this epoch has been called “the golden age of mercenaries,” and so treacherous did the mercenari...

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Veröffentlicht in:European review of economic history 2021-08, Vol.25 (3), p.429-446
1. Verfasser: Leeson, Peter T
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Florenz
Militär
Mittelalter
Politische Instabilität
Soldaten
Söldner
Venedig
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creator Leeson, Peter T
description Between the mid-thirteenth and mid-fifteenth centuries, Italian city-states abandoned citizen militaries for militaries composed of mercenaries: foreign soldiers for hire. So dramatic was the switch that this epoch has been called “the golden age of mercenaries,” and so treacherous did the mercenaries prove that Niccolò Machiavelli would later denounce them as “useless and dangerous.” Italian rulers knew of mercenaries’ infamous reputation when they hired them. To explain the puzzling fact that rulers hired mercenaries anyway, we develop a theory of military composition in which political circumstance constrains ruler choice. Comparative analysis of Venice and Florence provides evidence for our explanation.
doi_str_mv 10.1093/ereh/heaa020
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source Oxford University Press Journals All Titles (1996-Current)
subjects Florenz
Militär
Mittelalter
Politische Instabilität
Soldaten
Söldner
Venedig
title The golden age of mercenaries
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