Mercenaries as an Outsider Group in the Middle Ages Essay by GerardIPrudhomme
Mercenaries as an Outsider Group in the Middle Ages
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Description:
This paper looks at a combination of factors which show how the mercenary represented a distinct and separate group of outsiders in the Middle Ages.
From the Paper:
"The mercenaries of the Middle Ages were an interesting group, one with a bit more power than the traditional outsiders we have studied. The soldiers of fortune, or Condottieri, of Italy, were by far the most powerful and close knit of these mercenaries. The way in which Italian city-states were divided, without a single large standing army, meant that these mercenaries, many of whom were veterans of the recently finished Hundred Years War, not only could find ready employment, but also could also basically come and go as they pleased. These masses of armed veterans were feared by the local people, and treated as foreigners, as many of them were, and outcasts by the civilian and authority populations. This led to the brothers in arms developing a sense of camaraderie and unifying force that is seen in the many groups that we have studied. The leaders of the city-states, even when employing the mercenaries for their own needs, took special care to separate these warriors from the city, even so far as sending out prostitutes to take care of the mercenaries needs, adding to the otherness of these warriors in the eyes of the local populations. These factors combine to truly make the mercenary a distinct and separate group of outsiders in the Middle Ages."Cite this Essay:
APA Format
Mercenaries as an Outsider Group in the Middle Ages (2001, August 08)
Retrieved December 09, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/essay/mercenaries-as-an-outsider-group-in-the-middle-ages-2027/
MLA Format
"Mercenaries as an Outsider Group in the Middle Ages" 08 August 2001.
Web. 09 December. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/essay/mercenaries-as-an-outsider-group-in-the-middle-ages-2027/>