The Great Companies - Hardcover

Fowler, Kenneth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0631158863 ISBN 13: 9780631158868

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000

Synopsis

This is the first book devoted exclusively to the history of 'The Great Companies', an assembly of mercenaries drawn from different European countries who came together to fight in the second half of the 14th century, sometimes in the employ of kings, the pope, princes or city republics, but frequently fighting on their own account.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

France, Spain and Italy were the scene of almost constant warfare during the second half of the fourteenth century. By that time the armies of the kings, princes and city republics were raised by contract and paid. With the cessation of hostilities between England and France in 1360, many captains maintained their retinues to serve other employers, failing which they combined together to make war on their own account.

This first volume deals with the activities, mainly in France and Spain, of a large number of the soldiers who were demobilized after the conclusion of peace, and who came together to form the 'Great Companies'. The author places their activities in the political and diplomatic framework of the times, highlighting their ambitions and those of the rulers who employed them.

About the Author:

Kenneth Fowler, FRHS, is Professor Emeritus and Honorary Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of The Age of Plantagenet and Valois (1967) and The King's Lieutenant: Henry of Grosmont, First Duke of Lancaster 1310-1361 (1969), edited and contributed to The Hundred Years War (1971), and in recent years has written a large number of articles dealing with medieval warfare and in particular the activities of mercenary soldiers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0631158863
• ISBN 13: 9780631158868
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 403