White Company & Sir John Hawkwood: England's Most Renowned Mercenaries
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This is the story of how a band of English mercenaries revolutionized tactics in Italy, came to dominate Renaissance politics, and arguably laid the foundation for the age of the condottieri. It is the story of the White Company and the cunning John Hawkwood-acute general, loyal Englishman, and, most importantly, endlessly avaricious mercenary.
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Some must read mlitary history books:
Ambrose, S. E., Band of Brothers: E Company, 2001. amzn.to/438ltvZ
Baime, A. J., The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman, 2017. amzn.to/3TcDGUj
Beard, M., Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World, 2023. amzn.to/49L2olR
Bevoor, A., Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943, 1999. amzn.to/4a4rqwe
Beevor, A., The Second World War, 2013. amzn.to/3wNFITu
Brennan, P+D., Gettysburg in Color, 2022. amzn.to/48LGldG
Clausewitz, C., On War, 2010. amzn.to/3Vblf5
Kaushik, R., A Global History of Pre-Modern Warfare: 10,000 BCE-1500 CE, 2021. amzn.to/49Mtqt7
McPherson, J., Battle Cry of Freedom, The Civil War Era, 2021. amzn.to/3TseYAW
Tsu, S., The Art of War, 2007, amzn.to/3TuknHA
Sledge. E. B., With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, 2008. amzn.to/439olIK
Pomerantsev, P., How to Win an Information War, 2024. amzn.to/3Ts0YqQ
Bibliography:
Caferro, W., Articles, Warfare and Economy in Renaissance Italy, 1350-1450, In: The Journal of Interdisciplinary History vol. 39 (2008) p. 167-210.
Caferro, William P., Hawkwood: Florentine Hero and Faithful Englishman, in: The Hundred Years War. Different vistas p. 295-328.
Caferro, William P., "The fox and the lion": the White Company and the Hundred Years War in Italy, In: The Hundred Years War. A wider focus, 2005 p. 179-210.
Caferro, William P., Slaying the hydra-headed beast: Italy and the companies of adventure in the fourteenth century, In: Crusaders, condottieri and cannon, 2003, p. 285-304.
Fowler, K., Medieval Mercenaries, 2001.
Mallet, M., Mercenaries and their Master. Warfare in Renaissance Italy, 1974.
Mallet, M. s. v. Mercenaries in: Maurice Keen, Medieval Warfare. A history, 1999, pp. 209-229.
Savy, N. s. v. Great Company, in Clifford J. Rogers, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, 2010.
Knödler, J., s. v. Brabancons in Clifford J. Rogers, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, 2010.
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Can you make a video on Machiavelli's failed militia? I read that they "had a few successes" but ultimately "were defeated by mercenaries" to the chagrin of Niccolo. But can't find anything specific.
Great video!
I love your siege videos! I would absolutely love to see a video on the siege of Ceuta, the longest siege in history. I can’t seem to find any TH-camrs who have made a good video explaining in depth how the siege went
"Captain John Hawkwood."
Sounds like a name straight from a Fantasy book.
No wonder his rep was so good.
Hawkwood and the White Company was popularized in English historical/fantasy fiction by the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle. Interest and historical awareness of him has flowed from that.
Gordon R. Dickson used him as a character in his Childe Cycle SF novels. Which is why I know about him. Interesting to learn of the real man. Btw is name was not pronounceable among non English speakers so his name was Latinised as Johannes Acutus ("John Sharp"). So there was a Sharp in Italy before there was one in Portugal.
This is because the fantasy genre is a close relative of late Victorian historical novels, which were often written about men like Hawkwood.
@@EndingSimple Giovanni Acuto was what the Italians called him.
As in English "Acuto" (Sharp) has the multiple meanings - dangerous as well as clever and wily.
I own the Caferro book the narrator referred to many times, as well as another on Hawkwood by John Leader.
It baffles me a bit why no movies have been made about his life. Fiction authors have certainly based many tales upon him, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ("The White Company") who created Sherlock Holmes. Chaucer's own story "The Knight" isn't based on solely on Hawkwood, but there's no doubt he was influenced by his time spent as Hawkwood's companion and fellow negotiator.
@@ingold1470 Good point.
Hawkwood is fascinating, because he doesn't seem to have amounted to much before the 1360s, despite the advantages he had. His mother had probably been from at least the gentry, and his first wife was probably also from the gentry or nobility, but we see him brawling and "borrowing" a neighbour's horse to plough his fields. This doesn't mean he was ploughing his fields - or perhaps more likely, his brother's fields - himself, but more likely he was simply managing the farm and his brother's properties in the area.
Froissart calls him "the poorest knight in the army" when the routiers attacked Avignon, so he'd been knighted between 1351 and 1360, but doesn't seem to have gathered any notable group or acted as an independent captain worth noting.
From 1360 on, though, he begins to skyrocket in prominence. It would be *fascinating* to know what changed to drive him onwards. If only he'd commissioned a poem or chronicle like Bertrand du Guesclin and other prominent men of the period.
daemonic pact is a hell of a drive
@@konstantinriumin2657 I'm sure Hawkwood's enemies would agree with the sentiment!
@@konstantinriumin2657 Griffith is that you?
@@anon2034 I was looking for these kinds of comments LOL
glad I'm not the only one who thought about the 'Company of Hawk'
@@konstantinriumin2657 How might I serve the great lord Tzeentch, the changer of ways?
*The OG Band of the Hawk, no comment*
Came down for this comment
OG the Hawk of White
For real in my mind I was thinking about berserk all along
"So put your glasses on,
Nothing will be wrong."
Miura took heavy inspiration from famous historical figures and events
Hawkwood was a terrifying mix of Sun Tzu and Machiavelli, and lived to be over 70 years old and amassed great wealth. An incredible life.
Sun Tzu and Machiavelli gave similar advises
Sun Tzu is much worse than Machiavelli's book.
@@winzyl9546 bro literally does not understand Sun Tzu’s book is about common sense in war.
Many of Machiavelli’s advice are outdated, the art of war never goes out of style.
Machiavelli was not a bad person, the book he wrote is not a 'how to'
it is
"this is what these shit lords are doing"
he was basically the guy giving away the magicians tricks, but the magicians are harsh feudal overlords.
he gave people a glimpse behind the curtain as to how the elites think, and control us to this day.
" In the 30 years that he served as a captain, Hawkwood's earnings ranged between 6,000 and 80,000 florins annually (in comparison, a skilled Florentine craftsman at the same time earned 30 florins a year)"
Holy😮
It's interesting how little things have really changed over the centuries. We still have the oligarchs and bankers Scrooge Mcduck diving into piles of cash, and the skilled artisans left with the table scraps.
@@cronykil74 Creating stuff brings wealth into existence but it doesn't make you rich, rich people are the ones who end up with the stuff the other people make and then rent or tax that stuff back to them. Noble families are the ones who stole land originally and then taxed the people who once had the land, Bankers take peoples money and give it to other people with interest payments, etc... The people who matter create wealth. The people who are rich are those that end up taking the stuff people create. Modern society seems to be okay with that as we've got TV and fastfood...
It’s really obvious why Machiavelli hated mercenaries
I mean, they were literally just bandits and marauders. Only that they would occasionally fight on your side if you paid them enough extortion money. They might also just take your extortion money and join your enemies.
There is a reason why Geneva convention does not protect mercenaries
@@lolasdm6959 That's why they were rebranded to private military contractors or security personnel lol.
@@Dave.Barlow
And then you end up like Russia with a rich PMC attempting to storm your capital
@@samblackstone3400 Yeah, and wasn't smart recruiting mostly from the prisons
So what exactly led to the end-situation where renaissance Italy essentially became Europe's dedicated PVP zone?
When France arrived
@@iseeyou5061 I'm not sure that ended it
@@Swift-mr5zi The question is what started it
A lethal combination of strong neighboring kingdoms while Italy insisted on remaining divided, yet extremely rich and productive, whose squabbling factions kept inviting foreign mercenaries or foreign crowns directly to settle their conflicts.
Very wealthy city-states rather than centralized power.
Virgin Italian Despot vs Based English Mercenary
*versus the TYPICAL english LOOTER...
hawkwood might have been a chad but mercenaries are such a massive pain in the ass.
People who know history know that the moral of “the pied piper” isn’t about not trusting strangers, it’s about always remembering to pay your freelancers…
It should be noted that the 130,000 florins that Hawkwood extorted from Tuscany would be worth about $25 million today.
And that was just ONE of his more successful campaigns.
He was one of the most interesting Englishmen of the 14th century.
@@MrVvulfextort treasure from despots average mercenary W
Long live the true Protestant Faith! Praise Christ! Down with Popish witchcraft and trickery!
Ooooh John Hawkwood! Called Giovanni Acuto here on Italy
Hawkwood is a strong surname
"John Hawkwood, British knight, most prudent leader of his age and most expert in the art of war"
Thats how bad badass this guy was
Chrsitian Cameron's Chivalry Series is set in this era and follows the career of a largely fictional character inspired by John Hawkwood (Hawkwood is also a character in the series). He's an excellent author of historical fiction (and sci fi and fantasy) and he's a keen reenactor himself which adds a lot of authenticity to his stories (alongside doing a ton of research).
There's a few changes made to history and occasionally a interpretations that I think are outdated or a stretch, but he's the only historical fiction author I know of who has actually gone to visit an archive to look at unpublished manuscripts as part of his research process, and his deviations are usually to highlight some aspect of medieval society that might not have otherwise been worked in so well.
Definitely recommend the series!
One of my favorite series! I’m going to be sad when we say farewell to William Gold.
I'll check it out. You might like Glen Cook's "Chronicles of the Black Company". Amazing 9 book series
There's a manga "Hawkwood" about his fictional involvement in the battle of Crecy
@@JohnDoe-ug3su I gave it a couple of chapters, but it's absolutely terrible. No grasp of Hawkwood's career, medieval warfare, 14th century armour or the Crécy campaign.
Damn, even before the coming of the Empire, the English were already making waves.
England has been a player in European politics for as long as there has been an England.
@CMitchell808 Not just a player. But a Prominent Champ of a player at times.
@@ThePaculdop Conquered by Romans, then conquered by anglo-saxons, then by vikings, then by Normans, then tried to conquer France but failed... went on plundering France and there's this mercenary in Italy. Two centururies later were using piracy to try and get some level play with the great empires. Got lucky in the 18th and 19th century and got finally beaten back to almost oblivion by the nazis.. Champ?
@@andreoliveira685 Got lucky in the 18th and 19th century ? Is that what you tell yourself
@@stevshaboba7476 uh... hurt feelings... love it. I have some time now so let me try and list it for you.
- by the end of the 17th century England got it's first indian colony as a gift from portugal and a great reform was done by Cromwell
- the Dutch fought bravely against the Spanish empire andEngland got a lot of opportunities from it
- Irish and scotch people loved making silly regiments and dying for the king
- Spanish war of succession led to some chaos in mainland europe and england benefited from it
- technical developments on the wool industry and england benefited from it
- a great age of maritime trade issued and england found the spanish empire in decline
- no mass media and england benefited from it by exterminating local people in oceania and north america
- napoleon causes chaos in mainland europe and england benefited from it
- liberal revolutions in europe and americas and england benefited from it
To be fair the English did a good job benefiting from all of it... but in 1946 was desperately begging for a loan from the US.
4:14 "Honey... Why is it that no matter where we go, everyone has to torment us in some way?"
Did the English mercenary rank and file settle in Italy or did they travel back to England?
This guy sounds few war crimes short of being the real world Griffith.
Except it seems he didn't aim to create his own kingdom but yes! I was screaming Griffith the whole video
I've seen Hawkwood's monument in Florence have always wondered how a man so far from home could rise to such heights as to be memorialized by the people he often extracted wealth from. Now I know, thanks for this video.
Very interesting video!
The Angevins seems like another good example of feudal marriage-alliances being used for actual empire building. I did not know they had a cadet-branch in Hungary.
The Italians had trouble pronouncing Hawkwood, so the called him by the closest-sounding Italian word, Acuto, which means needle. Very apt.
Acuto meant Sharp I think
@@SandileNgwenya-gv7nx or acute
THE WHITE COMPANY LETS GOO
4:00 Englishmen going on holiday to Italy what can go wrong
Hello ! I’m a descendant of John Hawkwood. His story always fascinated me. Thank you really much for this video about his company and his fights.
How are you related to him?
A generation would roughly be between 25 and 33 years. Meaning 3-4 generation in a century.
John Hawkwood lived about 650 years ago, which means about 20-25 generations.
For each generation, you have 2 ancestors. So that means in 20 generations, you have 1 million ancestors. In 25 generations, you have 30 million ancestors.
Given that some of John Hawkwood's children grew up in England, and presumably some grew up in Italy, that means a large number of people who has ancestry from south-eastern England or Northern Italy, is a descendant of John Hawkwood.
Instantly here after the upload - I already know this will be great!
Another amazing video by SandRhoman as alway. Love your work, it is gold. Please do a video on the Army of Flanders in the future.
First error: Being a mercenary doesn't mean someone wasn't a noble. Many nobles/knights were mercenaries at that time
It's amazing to read how quaintly out of touch (Saint) Catherine of Siena seems about her changing world when she writes to "Giovanni Acuto" (John Hawkwood) about going on Crusade instead of waging war in Italy;
_Dearest and sweetest brother in Christ Jesus, it would be a great thing now if you would withdraw a little into yourself, and consider, and reflect how great are the pains and anguish which you have endured by being in the service and pay of the devil. Now my soul desires that you should change your way of life, and take the pay and the cross of Christ crucified, you and all your followers and companions; so that you may be Christ's company, to march against the infidel dogs who possess our Holy Place..."_
I know this is an old(ish) video, but the conversion table at 15:18 is amazing. It shows that there really is no good way to convert between currencies when the relative value of what you could buy with it changes so drastically. Also illustrates shockingly well just how cheap food is today: 1h of labour today buys you 28x more grain than back then.
And land back then was far cheaper than it is now. There is a book called 'Making a Living in the Middle Ages'. I forget the author's name now, but it goes into all this
It's not so much that food is cheap now. It's more than workforce is very expensive now, because the workforce is incredibly much wealthier than it was in the Middle Ages.
I know that after the discovery of the Americas, the value of gold in Europe went down quite a lot. So I think the most "correct" conversion rate, would be that of wheat. But you would have to keep in mind that the general population was a lot poorer than they are now.
But then, the question is really what you want to convert.
@@Tjalve70 Even using wheat is problematic: to use the threshed grains, flour, or bread as the good with fixed price? In modernity the cost to go from one to the next is entirely negligible. In history, even the cost of moving the grain from farm to mill could be significant! Diocletian's price edict (300 AD Rome) allows us to track how expensive moving bulk goods was - a hundred kilometres overland would double the price of grain. So if we use grain, we have to use an exchange rate that varies drastically with distance.
At the end of a day, accurate conversion is not possible. Money is a measure of purchasing power, and when the things being purchased are drastically different, comparing the ability to buy them is unquantifiable.
@@QuantumHistorian I agree that using what is problematic.
I remember there was an economic historian who concluded that cattle was the best "item" to use for looking at prices through history.
But I'm not an expert, so I won't say too much about that.
Hawk? White?...... GRIFFITH
😂
"GRIFIIIIIIIIIIITH!"
This guy's life reads like the most successful Mount & Blade game EVER...
Hawk Tuah algorithm must have brought this into my recommendations 😂😂👍
I have been waiting for this since I first found about them in the Tsardoms mod
Very interesting & informative about a chapter of history I was unfamiliar with.
The guy's life showed up in the English textbook New Concept English, which led to tens of millions of people outside of Europe to learn of his tales. He was also mentioned a few times in the Childe cycle series of sci-fi novels, leading to many American sci-fi fans to learn of his exploits.
I, for one, welcome our new mercenary overlords.
Guy was playing mount and blade in real life.
Best History Channel!
another sandrhoman W
This is going to be great. I'm already seeing a bunch of Italians who will come in and claim Hawkwood was not that important.. as always.
Imagine living through this era as a normal person and getting raided by mercenaries every other day. Life must have truly sucked.
Not really tho it's just those unlucky towns but in usual wars most people wouldn't be affected at all
Hawkwood was good, but comparing him to Hannibal is not just a bridge too far. It’s blasphemy. Anyway, I feel like you’ve posted this video before, but maybe I’m confusing this with another channel’s video. I’m subscribed to at least 10 channels that put out similar content.
From White Company to Blackwater
Did Hawkwood occassionally say "Gives me conniptions" too?
His drip do be impeccable, I must say
He might habe been the inspiration for Griffith from Berserk
Can you do a Video about Longbowmen(Welsh Bow And English Longbow)
As rich as Italian was, can they even afford John Hawkwood payment? And if they could, for how long?
the white company also could refer to the white cliffs of dover, something people not from Britain may have heard of or seen
Hawkwoods early 'mistakes' could have been a way to harden the unit, or weed out those disloyal to him.
it gives deserters and traitors a chance to show their colors, and lets him know who will handle adverse conditions well.
he may have been shit testing his own unit to see how they handle stress and loss.
Every single time I try to comment that the English would take cool Italian names and make them sound lame af (Milano -> Milan; Torino -> Turin), this jackbooted site automatically erases my comment. Talk about Anglo-Saxon fragility.
The White Company vs the Black Nobility. Unfortunately, we know the Black Nobility finally came out on top - as they still are. BlackRock and Vanguard, etc.
I would think that the simplest explanation for their adopting or being given the moniker of "White Company" would be that an army of Englishmen in Florence would literally be whiter compared to the relatively swarthy populations of Mediterranean descent in Southern Europe.
Did anyone else notice the similarity to Bezerk or is it just me?
it's the inspiration for the story.
Great, I think You piqued my intrest, liked and subbed.
You say it's not known why they were initially called "company of English and Germans" then later say how they are continually reinforced with more German mercenaries.....?
The most I got from this video is that the Italians were way too rich for their own good.
Why am I suddenly reminded of the Rutger Hauer movie. "Flesh and Blood."
"Hawkwood's loyalty to Pisa was financially based."
So, based?
Right now the work seems focused on Italy. But would there any chance for a more German region focused content?
Imagine not naming your company the Band of the Hawk(wood).
I am in love with the mercenary series!!!
They really went For King and Country before it was cool
Incredible!
4:40 That's a simile my man, not a metaphor. opinion rejected.
Black company operated in 1363. I feel that it is just very natural for humans to name a company the "white company" if black company is in existence just to distinguish those two.
I wonder why nobody talks about germs that got from the Americas (and other continents) to Europe. It would be a rather interesting piece(s) about the Iustinian´s plague or the Black Death (cca 1350).
I thought you were speaking of germans
I thought you were speaking of germans
One thing I want to know, is these mercenaries regularly accumulate vast sums of wealth, only to need to go on the plunder again a few years later. What the hell were they spending all their money on??
The same thing soldiers always blow their money on: Dodge Chargers with 35% interest.
Food, wine, and horse (sp.).
Guns, Germs and Steel. Recommended by me, who is nobody. A real deep - dive. Not the easiest read but worth it.
They had the longest pikes
Except maybe the Landsknechts of course 😂
Your pronunciation of 'marriage' is slightly off. Its usually said more like 'marrij' by native speakers. Rhymes with 'carriage'. The 'i' is silent.
Great video though, so thanks, I enjoyed it.
He also consistently mispronounces "shrapnel" as "shARpnel".
Damn...they were Blackrock before Blackrock.
best vid of the channel
I love this channel but it has had some issues with quality control in my opinion. The pronunciation and spelling in english has not been great. I think you should either commit someone to quality control or do it in your native language with subtitles.
He already has subtitles.
So feel free to turn off the sound, and just read, if that's what you prefer.
Chaucer, the writer?! Maybe he’s allegorical, but we won’t hold that against him!
The guy liked the action and was good at it
Proof yet again that the private sector does it better.
Hawkwood is the great great great uncle of Hawk Tauh.
Giovanni Accudo was his name in italian. He was a real badass, otherwise he wouldnt have lived as long as he did. He also worked with germans as Baumgarten. A very interesting period of european history! Splendid and cruel alike.
But, how many men where in the company?
It is fairly easy to say "we won't fight England" when you're in Italy and England is fighting a war elsewhere.
Keep in mind that at this point in time, the King of England also owned Aquitaine.
So it wasn't THAT far away.
Fun fact: Hawkwood and the White Company were the inspiration for Griffith and the Band of the Hawk in Berserk.
Wow, now I know where Glen Cook got the inspiration for themes and characters from for The Black Company series, Dread Empire series, and StarFishers trilogy. If you like mature dark fantasy, that's a like a cross between Lord of the Rings and Platoon, then Glen Cook is your guy.
Interesting fact: During the 100 years war, the Germans and Spanish raided France so much that the French gave up distinguishing them and just called them all English.
Sour Italians in the comments 😂
HAWKWOOD isone of my ancestors !
same as john hughes from russia.
A generation would roughly be between 25 and 33 years. Meaning 3-4 generation in a century.
John Hawkwood lived about 650 years ago, which means about 20-25 generations.
For each generation, you have 2 ancestors. So that means in 20 generations, you have 1 million ancestors. In 25 generations, you have 30 million ancestors.
Given that some of John Hawkwood's children grew up in England, and presumably some grew up in Italy, that means a large number of people who has ancestry from south-eastern England or Northern Italy, is a descendant of John Hawkwood.
I'll have to pay a visit to St. Peter's Church in Sible Hedingham to look at the arch which honour's him. I keep meaning to go to The Church of St Nicholas in nearby Castle Hedingham to pay respects to the de Vere family members commemorated there (I have reasons) and Alderford Water Mill so it will make a good day out.
it is a lovely video and I am thankful for it, and that is the main thing, and it will be even better if the Italian pronunciation was accurate. Why not? that is not so difficult, just talk with any Italian person. I would be happy to help, and I don't want anything for that, zero. Just the fact you are saying the right names is enough for me.
The white company and sir Nigel by sir Walter Scott are still my favorite historical fiction novels anyone who hasn’t read them should.
Yes, yes. This is all well and good, but does he have a behelit?
Dude was the inspiration for griffith and the band of the hawk in berzerk
Band of the Hawk?
Hawkwind surely..?
Aight bro. I signed up for the imprint thing and you got credit. You know what that means. You better pat yourself on the back and get back to god's work!!
LETS GO LADS!!!!! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
The Lance was 2 men-at-arms to handle Lance + their squires/pages
Ahhhh, so THIS man was the inspiration for BattleTech!
Great video on a very slept on part of history. Can you also please do a documentary about Francesco Sforza?
how have both Chaucer and Petrarch wound up in a video about mercenaries 😂 two of the finest poets of their century
I was not expecting a Chaucer connection.
insane lore
Bro was so rich he won every single band for band with entire sovereign nation's