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The Devil's Broker: Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in Fourteenth- Century Italy
A vibrant history of Italy in the cataclysmic fourteenth century as seen through the life of a brilliant military strategist and bandit lord At the dawn of the Renaissance, hordes of mercenaries swooped down on the opulent city-states of Italy and commenced to drain them dry. The greatest of all the bandits was Sir John Hawkwood, an English expatriate and military genius who formed his own army, cleverly pitted ancient rivals against one another, held the Pope for ransom, and set blood running in the streets. In this gripping biography of the charismatic Hawkwood, Frances Stonor Saunders illuminates the fourteenth century as a time of plague, political schism, and religious mania offset by a gargantuan appetite for spectacle and luxury. Dazzling and addictively readable, The Devil's Broker is a riveting account of the fortunes gained and lost in a tumultuous time.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
About the author
Frances Stonor Saunders
5 books43 followersFrances Hélène Jeanne Stonor Saunders is a British journalist and historian.
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January 13, 2015All books about medieval European individuals are bold - unless they are about St.Augustine, who alone felt the need to share his memories of his thoughts and feelings at length with posterity, for everyone else the best that can be achieved is a life and time flavoured with conjecture.
Hawkwood was an Englishman from Essex who led the White Company, a band of mercenaries, that operated in northern Italy during the fourteenth century. I found the book a disappointing read since I wanted more detail on how the mercenary company operated. It seems that the source material only dealt indirectly with Hawkwood and his activities and there didn't seem much of an attempt to look at comparable, but better documented contemporary military undertakings as a way of understanding how Hawkwood and Co went about their business. Nor was there any attempt to put Hawkwood in a wider context of how wars were conducted in the period.
On the other hand it is a reasonably written book for a general audience about a topic that is fairly obscure (the activities of an English mercenary company in medieval Italy) as well as inaccessible for most English readers and for that it deserves full credit.
Hawkwood was an Englishman from Essex who led the White Company, a band of mercenaries, that operated in northern Italy during the fourteenth century. I found the book a disappointing read since I wanted more detail on how the mercenary company operated. It seems that the source material only dealt indirectly with Hawkwood and his activities and there didn't seem much of an attempt to look at comparable, but better documented contemporary military undertakings as a way of understanding how Hawkwood and Co went about their business. Nor was there any attempt to put Hawkwood in a wider context of how wars were conducted in the period.
On the other hand it is a reasonably written book for a general audience about a topic that is fairly obscure (the activities of an English mercenary company in medieval Italy) as well as inaccessible for most English readers and for that it deserves full credit.
August 11, 2007
So you thought the 21st century was bad? Try living in Italy in the 14th century. Of course you had plague, famine, poverty, and bloodshed, but don't forget the social injustice, backwards medicine, poor hygiene, living in filth, and religious mania. Although this book paints quite the picture of life in Europe of the Middle Ages, the most incredible thing isn't how bad it really was, but that we managed to actually survive as a species through it all. But that's not really what the book is supposed to be about (or is it?)--it's really just the story of one man, a knight and mercenary by the name of Sir John Hawkwood.
Forget all your childish and naive notions of knighthood--that's really just a codename for murderer, bully, bandit, and oppressor. And Hawkwood was one of the best. After the loot became scarce in France during the Hundred Years War, he made his way to Italy and commenced to plunder and pillage his way to fame and fortune at the expense of everybody in his way. Kings and queens and popes were powerless before him for three or four decades until he mercifully died of natural causes and the Italian city-states, the papacy, the peasants, and the merchants could finally all let out a deep sigh of relief.
The story of Hawkwood, though, is just the tip of the iceberg. There are interesting subplots dealing with other famous characters of the time, like Geoffrey Chaucer, Catherine of Sienna, and the fascinating stories of three popes (one who died halfway through the book, one who was elected his successor, and one who attempted to usurp the "rightful" pope). (Reading this book made me want to read some papal history.)
This is crazy, compelling stuff, and a vibrantly told story as well. The only downside was trying to keep all the names and political factions straight, but maybe that's just me. Thanks to Mike for recommending it, I enjoyed it immensely.
Forget all your childish and naive notions of knighthood--that's really just a codename for murderer, bully, bandit, and oppressor. And Hawkwood was one of the best. After the loot became scarce in France during the Hundred Years War, he made his way to Italy and commenced to plunder and pillage his way to fame and fortune at the expense of everybody in his way. Kings and queens and popes were powerless before him for three or four decades until he mercifully died of natural causes and the Italian city-states, the papacy, the peasants, and the merchants could finally all let out a deep sigh of relief.
The story of Hawkwood, though, is just the tip of the iceberg. There are interesting subplots dealing with other famous characters of the time, like Geoffrey Chaucer, Catherine of Sienna, and the fascinating stories of three popes (one who died halfway through the book, one who was elected his successor, and one who attempted to usurp the "rightful" pope). (Reading this book made me want to read some papal history.)
This is crazy, compelling stuff, and a vibrantly told story as well. The only downside was trying to keep all the names and political factions straight, but maybe that's just me. Thanks to Mike for recommending it, I enjoyed it immensely.
November 28, 2023
The Devil's Broker is a fascinating popular account of the life of infamous knight and mercenary commander John Hawkwood. One of the minor English warriors who participated in the 100 Years War under Edward III, after a truce he quit formal service and joined a mercenary company. The difference between royal service and mercenary work was rather theoretical. The English chevauchee was pure economic warfare, wide-ranging looting of the countryside that paid for itself. Mercenary work was much the same.
Hawkwood's company, the White Company, crossed into Italy, and there Hawkwood found his calling. His career was complex, to say the least, with Hawkwood fighting for Milan, Florence, and the Papacy at various points, although contrary to popular beliefs about mercenaries, Hawkwood did not suddenly switch sides on the eve of battle, or avoid battle entirely. Along with sacks and sudden assaults by storm and stealth, he was a master of the feigned retreat, luring his foes into vulnerable positions for a counter-charge. He participated in the brutal Massacre at Cesena while working for the papacy, and then switched to secular service.
Saunders makes the case for Hawkwood as an influential figure of the age. Aside from someone who executed the bloody intrigues of Italian politics, he also served as model for the protagonist of Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" (the two met several times), and advanced English foreign policy in Italy, a vital market for English wool, and a strategic theater for apply leverage against the French from a second front.
Despite his long career and evident success in battle, Hawkwood died essentially broke, leaving his wife and children to make their own way in the world rather than establishing a major line. Dying in bed at the age of 71 or 72 is more than a lot of his contemporaries could say.
A Distant Mirror, this book, Mercenaries and Their Masters and
The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior would make a solid survey of the era.
Hawkwood's company, the White Company, crossed into Italy, and there Hawkwood found his calling. His career was complex, to say the least, with Hawkwood fighting for Milan, Florence, and the Papacy at various points, although contrary to popular beliefs about mercenaries, Hawkwood did not suddenly switch sides on the eve of battle, or avoid battle entirely. Along with sacks and sudden assaults by storm and stealth, he was a master of the feigned retreat, luring his foes into vulnerable positions for a counter-charge. He participated in the brutal Massacre at Cesena while working for the papacy, and then switched to secular service.
Saunders makes the case for Hawkwood as an influential figure of the age. Aside from someone who executed the bloody intrigues of Italian politics, he also served as model for the protagonist of Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" (the two met several times), and advanced English foreign policy in Italy, a vital market for English wool, and a strategic theater for apply leverage against the French from a second front.
Despite his long career and evident success in battle, Hawkwood died essentially broke, leaving his wife and children to make their own way in the world rather than establishing a major line. Dying in bed at the age of 71 or 72 is more than a lot of his contemporaries could say.
A Distant Mirror, this book, Mercenaries and Their Masters and
The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior would make a solid survey of the era.
August 26, 2011
One thing is for sure: war is about money. Always has been and always will be. John Hawkwood was merely an excellent and unashamed practitioner of war as a revenue-generating activity. 1360, a treaty is signed and the Hundred Years War pauses, but people keep fighting, mostly English soldiers who stay in France to kill and burn and pillage because it beats going home and doing an honest day's work or dying of the plague. The soldiers coalesce into large companies who style themselves mercenaries, though instead of being paid to fight, they mostly just fight until they're paid to go away. Amongst the hordes laying waste to much of France is unassuming Essex man, John Hawkwood. They range far and wide until they finally threaten the pope, living in luxurious exile in Avignon. In sheer self-defence, the pope hires Hawkwood and tells him to go to Italy, and that's where Hawkwood goes, bringing an exciting new era of death and destruction with him.
Northern Italy is full of strong, prosperous city states like Milan, Florence and Siena, all of whom hate each other, a situation which Hawkwood coolly and calmly and ruthlessly exploits. Soon he and his men are killing peasants, raping women, burning crops, ransoming nobles and even defeating the odd army here and there, collecting vast sums from various signoria to go away and bother the other guy. Then the pope returns to Rome and tries to take charge and more people die and Hawkwood keeps raking it in.
Hawkwood, oddly enough, remains a cipher. We only know him through his actions, his clever maneuverings, his carefully controlled slaughtering and kidnapping and, oh yeah, that one really big massacre at Cesena. He left no writings behind to provide any sort of insight into his character or personality, and mostly he just kept soldiering and ransoming and robbing and threatening and killing because that's what he was good at. Instead we have walk-on parts by the likes of Chaucer, Boccaccio, Petrarch and Catherine of Siena to bring the age to life and illuminate the minds and souls of the players and the landscape they moved through: wealth, poverty, famine, plague, war, not to mention the obscene iniquity of holy mother church, outdoing all others in the atrocity stakes as it gropes for secular power, while its cardinals and prelates are ardent practitioners of the seven deadly sins.
This is a deeply interesting book, written with a cool, clear detachment that occasionally turns acerbic. It is an edifying and sobering piece of history, and if Hawkwood remains an enigma, it may be because we don't yet understand how much of history is carved out by cool, ruthless bastards doing whatever the hell they wanted.
Northern Italy is full of strong, prosperous city states like Milan, Florence and Siena, all of whom hate each other, a situation which Hawkwood coolly and calmly and ruthlessly exploits. Soon he and his men are killing peasants, raping women, burning crops, ransoming nobles and even defeating the odd army here and there, collecting vast sums from various signoria to go away and bother the other guy. Then the pope returns to Rome and tries to take charge and more people die and Hawkwood keeps raking it in.
Hawkwood, oddly enough, remains a cipher. We only know him through his actions, his clever maneuverings, his carefully controlled slaughtering and kidnapping and, oh yeah, that one really big massacre at Cesena. He left no writings behind to provide any sort of insight into his character or personality, and mostly he just kept soldiering and ransoming and robbing and threatening and killing because that's what he was good at. Instead we have walk-on parts by the likes of Chaucer, Boccaccio, Petrarch and Catherine of Siena to bring the age to life and illuminate the minds and souls of the players and the landscape they moved through: wealth, poverty, famine, plague, war, not to mention the obscene iniquity of holy mother church, outdoing all others in the atrocity stakes as it gropes for secular power, while its cardinals and prelates are ardent practitioners of the seven deadly sins.
This is a deeply interesting book, written with a cool, clear detachment that occasionally turns acerbic. It is an edifying and sobering piece of history, and if Hawkwood remains an enigma, it may be because we don't yet understand how much of history is carved out by cool, ruthless bastards doing whatever the hell they wanted.
June 26, 2014
Highly accessible history of late Medieval Italy. This is a superb read, one that is evocative of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror.
Like Tuchman, Saunders frames her book around the life and times of an individual - in this case, English mercenary John Hawkwood, who found himself in rather constant employ due to the various feuds and wars among the city-states of Italy.
Through Hawkwood, we get a good look at several of the major players in the region during this time - Catherine of Siena, the Visconti "Vipers," various popes, and royalty from France, England and the Holy Roman Empire.
It skews heavily towards the politics of the age, without getting too bogged down in details. You do get some idea of what life was like, but mainly for the elite like Hawkwood. It touches on a few subjects like religious ardor and the importance of the Church in daily life, how warfare was conducted during the time, what the average person's sex life might have been like, and so on.
There's a ton of great anecdotes in here, too.
I still consider Barbara Tuchman's book the first thing you should reach for if you're interested in the 14th century - but her work focuses more on the French and English. When you're done with it, read this book to get an idea of the workings of Italy during this time.
Like Tuchman, Saunders frames her book around the life and times of an individual - in this case, English mercenary John Hawkwood, who found himself in rather constant employ due to the various feuds and wars among the city-states of Italy.
Through Hawkwood, we get a good look at several of the major players in the region during this time - Catherine of Siena, the Visconti "Vipers," various popes, and royalty from France, England and the Holy Roman Empire.
It skews heavily towards the politics of the age, without getting too bogged down in details. You do get some idea of what life was like, but mainly for the elite like Hawkwood. It touches on a few subjects like religious ardor and the importance of the Church in daily life, how warfare was conducted during the time, what the average person's sex life might have been like, and so on.
There's a ton of great anecdotes in here, too.
I still consider Barbara Tuchman's book the first thing you should reach for if you're interested in the 14th century - but her work focuses more on the French and English. When you're done with it, read this book to get an idea of the workings of Italy during this time.
September 8, 2020
Hawkwood is one of those books that contains so much information, by the time you get to the end you’ve forgotten the beginning. It’s amazing how the author has discovered so many historical threads from over six hundred years ago. Of course, a quick look at the bibliography reveals a tremendous amount of research. John Hawkwood was one of the most successful mercenaries of his time and lived to the ripe old age of 74, apparently dying in his bed. He became the leader of great Companies of unemployed mercenaries who preferred not to return back to England during the Hundred Years War, most notably the famous White Company that grew so large it was truly the size of a small army. What surprised me the most was that the freelance Companies were much more of a fixture in Italy than in France. They were employed by first one city then the other, only taking sides with the best paymaster. Even the pope found their services useful:
The bribe that had first propelled the White Company into Italy had been paid by the pope. Indeed, while Innocent VI continued to denounce the mercenaries as devils in human shape, he was their chief employer. To protect the papal patrimony in Italy, much of which had been usurped by petty princes, the Avignon popes were constrained to conduct frequent wars.
Of course, once the mercenaries found out how profitable their sojourn into Italy was, they were impossible to dislodge. Apparently no matter how much protection money they demanded, the beleaguered Italians found the means to pay them. Florence, especially, made use of their services to excess; toward the end of the century, they offered Hawkwood a wonderful palace, a pension, and even dowries for his three daughters. Throughout his decades in Italy, Hawkwood was the go-to man whenever some duke or count or pope or city had a quarrel with somebody else. The destruction perpetrated upon the helpless population was terrible to read about. But as far as the Companies were concerned, it was strictly business—and a profitable one too. (Alas, money slipped through Hawkwood's fingers like water, and by the end of his life he was impoverished.) Anyway, I wonder if Italy suffered more than France as a result of the Hundred Years War. This comprehensive volume is not the kind of book you would generally read for entertainment, but for informational value it is exceptional.
The bribe that had first propelled the White Company into Italy had been paid by the pope. Indeed, while Innocent VI continued to denounce the mercenaries as devils in human shape, he was their chief employer. To protect the papal patrimony in Italy, much of which had been usurped by petty princes, the Avignon popes were constrained to conduct frequent wars.
Of course, once the mercenaries found out how profitable their sojourn into Italy was, they were impossible to dislodge. Apparently no matter how much protection money they demanded, the beleaguered Italians found the means to pay them. Florence, especially, made use of their services to excess; toward the end of the century, they offered Hawkwood a wonderful palace, a pension, and even dowries for his three daughters. Throughout his decades in Italy, Hawkwood was the go-to man whenever some duke or count or pope or city had a quarrel with somebody else. The destruction perpetrated upon the helpless population was terrible to read about. But as far as the Companies were concerned, it was strictly business—and a profitable one too. (Alas, money slipped through Hawkwood's fingers like water, and by the end of his life he was impoverished.) Anyway, I wonder if Italy suffered more than France as a result of the Hundred Years War. This comprehensive volume is not the kind of book you would generally read for entertainment, but for informational value it is exceptional.
June 15, 2024
I'm basing this review mostly on how much of an interesting read I had rather than how super well structured this would be for most people.
Now, this seems like it would be mostly about one particular mercenary, which, in a way, it is. However, it's more a portrait of a very particular snapshot into 14th century Italy with cameos following the narrative of the historical figure the book initially seemed it would be about. I've read at least one other book with a similar time period and geographical focus, so it's difficult for me to say whether or not this book wpuld be super easy to follow if you didn't already know a bit of what's going on.
All that being said, this very specific focus was fascinating to me, and I had a really great time getting a window into it. I was actually kind of disappointed when I looked into if this author wrote any other books on this period in history, and there was nothing other than what I would consider fairly recent history. I'd love it if they put out something else like this that had that kind of specific focus in the future.
As a small but needy side note, I'm sure no one who's reading this book would probably be interested in it. Anyways, one of my favorite anime/stories of all time is Berserk. And bassically a couple of its big historical inspirations is the hundred years war and the golden age of mercenaries (which I think is between the 13th and 15th century's) The mercenary band in that is called the band of the hawke lead by Griffith aka. The white hawke. Given that the real life mercenary from that period in this book, Sir John Hawkwood (who got his start and knighthood during the hindred years war) leads a company called the white company. According to the book, he was also written to the address of El Falco (I think that's how the book spelled it. I don't speak Ittalian, my apologies) or "of the hawk". Anyways even if this guy was not an explicit inspiration for Berserk, it's still exciting to find such a close historical parallel.
If you're interested in this period, this is definitely a great book to read as it's not often you find something with this hyper spefic of a foucus on a non modernnhostry period. And if you're a Berserk fan with an interest in history you're gonna have wayyyyy too fun a time reading this.
Now, this seems like it would be mostly about one particular mercenary, which, in a way, it is. However, it's more a portrait of a very particular snapshot into 14th century Italy with cameos following the narrative of the historical figure the book initially seemed it would be about. I've read at least one other book with a similar time period and geographical focus, so it's difficult for me to say whether or not this book wpuld be super easy to follow if you didn't already know a bit of what's going on.
All that being said, this very specific focus was fascinating to me, and I had a really great time getting a window into it. I was actually kind of disappointed when I looked into if this author wrote any other books on this period in history, and there was nothing other than what I would consider fairly recent history. I'd love it if they put out something else like this that had that kind of specific focus in the future.
As a small but needy side note, I'm sure no one who's reading this book would probably be interested in it. Anyways, one of my favorite anime/stories of all time is Berserk. And bassically a couple of its big historical inspirations is the hundred years war and the golden age of mercenaries (which I think is between the 13th and 15th century's) The mercenary band in that is called the band of the hawke lead by Griffith aka. The white hawke. Given that the real life mercenary from that period in this book, Sir John Hawkwood (who got his start and knighthood during the hindred years war) leads a company called the white company. According to the book, he was also written to the address of El Falco (I think that's how the book spelled it. I don't speak Ittalian, my apologies) or "of the hawk". Anyways even if this guy was not an explicit inspiration for Berserk, it's still exciting to find such a close historical parallel.
If you're interested in this period, this is definitely a great book to read as it's not often you find something with this hyper spefic of a foucus on a non modernnhostry period. And if you're a Berserk fan with an interest in history you're gonna have wayyyyy too fun a time reading this.
May 25, 2023
The world of 14th century Europe was a place where many rulers tried to increase their political power over principalities and territories. The king of England made a claim on France, Italy was divided into warring states, and even Popes made a power play. Achieving their political aims had to be done with military force and it was supplied by free companies of mercenaries like Sir John Hawkwoods White Company which fought for money and plunder and did all their contracted employers dirty work. These companies were not held in high regard by anyone but were employed because they were useful. The mercenaries were not reliable, broke contracts for better offers, and bleed their employers dry. Sir John Hawkwood was a capable commander but he was not worthy of being made into a hero since he was not honorable man.
September 23, 2014
Long before Italian organised crime had become...er organised; a bunch of 14th Century Essex boys were pillaging, extorting, kidnapping, raping, murdering and betraying their way through the Italian City States with a vengeance. The most successful or them was "Sir" John Hawkwood, son of an Essex Yeoman whose meteoric rise as a Mercenary in the labyrinthine world of Italian politics led him to wealth, castles, royal in-laws, a state funeral in Florence and a big assed fresco in the Duomo that can be be seen there still today. Stonor Saunders fantastically detailed biography of the Lance for hire "son of Belial" is an amazing portrait of 14th Century life. If you thought medieval wars were tidy things fought in open fields by willing combatants, think again. When Chaucer wrote about Knights "ridding out", he meant on raids - that is plundering and terrifying the civilian population, often burning crops and poisoning wells. Then as now, War by softening up the civilian population was common. Nonetheless an aspiring foot soldier could make his fortune through war after the huge social changes created by the Black Death in Europe. Not only were the spoils of war for the victors but the laws of chivalry expected high value captives to be ransomed back to their families. After Edward III's successful campaigns against the French at Crecy and Poitiers, many soldiers simply decided to not go home and sought fortune as the so called Free Companies, rampaging across Europe, holding the Pope to ransom in Avignon, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. The most fortunate soldiers found there way to Italy where warring city states and papal intrigues (the Papacy split at the end of the 14th C) provided amply coin for foreign Lances.
Since relatively little source material from Hawkwood himself remains, Stonor Saunders builds up a comprehensive picture of his contemporaries, the political scheming of the era, religious martyrdom, the philosophies of the age and daily life. She has a background in the Arts so she makes quite a lot of reference to the artistic output of the age and the birth of the Renaissance - think Orson Wells on the top that Ferris Wheel in The Third Man.
If that's not enough, here's some other things you will find in this book: the hallucinogenic effects of starvation and medieval bread, political poisonings, Chaucer's secret diplomatic mission in Italy, self-abusing extreme religious aestheticism, death, a civilian massacre of 8,000 people, the Black Death, feasting as display of wealth, what happens when lightening hits a field of armoured men, the cannonised nun who was also a spy, more death, and the identifying insignia of medieval prostitutes in the Italian city states. All the key ingredients of a good Friday night out.
It a remarkable portrait of the paradoxes of the age, the realities of chivalry and the zeitgeist of a historical turning point.
Since relatively little source material from Hawkwood himself remains, Stonor Saunders builds up a comprehensive picture of his contemporaries, the political scheming of the era, religious martyrdom, the philosophies of the age and daily life. She has a background in the Arts so she makes quite a lot of reference to the artistic output of the age and the birth of the Renaissance - think Orson Wells on the top that Ferris Wheel in The Third Man.
If that's not enough, here's some other things you will find in this book: the hallucinogenic effects of starvation and medieval bread, political poisonings, Chaucer's secret diplomatic mission in Italy, self-abusing extreme religious aestheticism, death, a civilian massacre of 8,000 people, the Black Death, feasting as display of wealth, what happens when lightening hits a field of armoured men, the cannonised nun who was also a spy, more death, and the identifying insignia of medieval prostitutes in the Italian city states. All the key ingredients of a good Friday night out.
It a remarkable portrait of the paradoxes of the age, the realities of chivalry and the zeitgeist of a historical turning point.
February 11, 2014
Absolutey fascinating account, not only about the life of the man, but also his times. I liked the writing style as well as the myriad details of life in the fourteenth century. Did not want to put it down. It stripped the glamour from the popular tales of chivalry and painted a stark portrait of the impracticalities of riding into battle encased in heavy metal armour. No mere recitation of dry facts and dates. "Lying face down in the mud encased in seventy pounds of armour was a disadvantageous position to be in". "In 1360, an English army ill-provisioned and in retreat after an unsuccessful blockade of Paris, found itself caught in a violent storm. Breastplates and chain mail became lightning rods, and many knights were fried in their saddles". Definitely a five star read, even for those those not particularly interested in history.
April 1, 2012
As the title implies, this book is a biography of John Hawkwood, an englishman who following the Treaty of Brétigny, becomes a freebooter and sells the services of himself and his company of mercenaries to whatever Italian city-state offers more. It isn't only about Hawkwood the man, though, but so much more; Saunders also gives a portrait of the times he lived in. It is a brief and not very penetrating portrait, but a lot more balanced than than the popular image of the 'Dark Ages'. For as she points out these are the times not only of famine, war, superstition and misery but times of intense life, culture and joy.
July 28, 2023
A fantastic book, completely engrossing. Using Hawkwood as her vehicle, the author invites you into the merciless world of 14th C. Italian politics, dealing the intrigues, personalities and scandals of the day with vivid storytelling. The book could easily have descended into a repetitive confusion (Hawkwood's life, as with his client states, was one of endless battling, extortion, ransoming, changes of allegiance, then more battling, more ransoming). Thankfully though, with her eye for the interesting detail and clear prose, this author has taken this tricky and messy period of history and produced a first class read.
September 9, 2010
Interesting because the connection to Chaucer, but not really the biography it claims on the back cover. Also it seems to lose steam.
February 2, 2021
This book is tentatively about the life of the famous English condottiere John Hawkwood who made a life for himself and his White Company robbing, blackmailing, betraying and fighting all around Italy in the XIVth century.
But since records in the XIVth century were pretty scarce there is not a huge amount of information out there about Hawkwood himself so in order to fill the voids the book deals with the political and military history of XIVth century Italy. And what a history it is!
The wars between the various city states of Florence, Milan, Pisa, Lucca, Siena, the Papal States etc. were incredible in the sense that the alliances were constantly shifting and that they all used expensive and unreliable mercenary armies who changed sides all the time. The corruption of the Papal States was at an all time high, Popes were selling indulgences, starting wars, causing massacres, torturing people and extorting states and men for all their worth. First the Papacy was in exile in France and then there were two Popes accusing each other of being an antipope and excommunicating each other.
The problem with the book is that it is not written particularly well. The subject matter is fantastic and interesting, the stories themselves are almost unbelievable. John Hawkwood participated in some famous battles and would have liked some better descriptions of those battles and also some maps as well. Instead sometimes the author goes on providing lengthy lists which are completely unnecessary, for example providing a list of all the food on the menu at a Visconti wedding or an endless list of loot captured by mercenaries after a certain war. For some that may be interesting, personally I care much more for actual history rather than that sort of trivial minutia.
Saint Catherine of Sienna is somehow built up into a main character of the book and the author theorizes that she might have met John Hawkwood at one point but there is very little evidence to prove that. And if even if there was it really does not add to the history.
The author also provides passages in middle English which are barely readable and provides the modern translation in the endnotes (instead of having the passages directly in English).
In conclusion, from a historical point of view the book is great as a summary of the XIVth century Italian politics and warfare but it does have some flaws which reduce the overall enjoyment.
But since records in the XIVth century were pretty scarce there is not a huge amount of information out there about Hawkwood himself so in order to fill the voids the book deals with the political and military history of XIVth century Italy. And what a history it is!
The wars between the various city states of Florence, Milan, Pisa, Lucca, Siena, the Papal States etc. were incredible in the sense that the alliances were constantly shifting and that they all used expensive and unreliable mercenary armies who changed sides all the time. The corruption of the Papal States was at an all time high, Popes were selling indulgences, starting wars, causing massacres, torturing people and extorting states and men for all their worth. First the Papacy was in exile in France and then there were two Popes accusing each other of being an antipope and excommunicating each other.
The problem with the book is that it is not written particularly well. The subject matter is fantastic and interesting, the stories themselves are almost unbelievable. John Hawkwood participated in some famous battles and would have liked some better descriptions of those battles and also some maps as well. Instead sometimes the author goes on providing lengthy lists which are completely unnecessary, for example providing a list of all the food on the menu at a Visconti wedding or an endless list of loot captured by mercenaries after a certain war. For some that may be interesting, personally I care much more for actual history rather than that sort of trivial minutia.
Saint Catherine of Sienna is somehow built up into a main character of the book and the author theorizes that she might have met John Hawkwood at one point but there is very little evidence to prove that. And if even if there was it really does not add to the history.
The author also provides passages in middle English which are barely readable and provides the modern translation in the endnotes (instead of having the passages directly in English).
In conclusion, from a historical point of view the book is great as a summary of the XIVth century Italian politics and warfare but it does have some flaws which reduce the overall enjoyment.
August 30, 2022
I had never heard of Sir John Hawkwood before, nor this book. I came upon both by good fortune, £3 secondhand in an Oxfam shop!
I wasn’t looking forward to reading it, although set in my favourite period, fourteenth to early fifteenth century, it was the subject matter that was a little worrying. I knew, or rather expected the content to be bursting at the gunwales with mindless violence and destruction; I was right, but there is so much more.
Frances uses Hawkwood as an instrument to reveal many aspects of late medieval life in rich detail, most of which, but not all, full of the darker sides of humanity. I’m not a historian, so I can’t pass profound judgment upon how well the content was researched; however, in my ignorance, it looks like she has researched not only Hawkwood’s story but many other related topics well enough to paint a vivid picture of life in northern Italy at that time.
The text is engaging, flowing so very well, starting at what seems like a frantic pace, slowing towards the end of the book; perhaps, because by now Hawkwood was in his mid-sixties, his life itself slowing somewhat. Frances’ language is eloquent throughout, except for dates, when she resorts to pidgin English: 20 March, instead of the 20th of March! It’s as if the main body of text is written by an educated person fluent in English, while the dates have been inserted by someone learning English as a third or forth language, having not yet learnt the basics of grammar.
Highly recommended reading!
I wasn’t looking forward to reading it, although set in my favourite period, fourteenth to early fifteenth century, it was the subject matter that was a little worrying. I knew, or rather expected the content to be bursting at the gunwales with mindless violence and destruction; I was right, but there is so much more.
Frances uses Hawkwood as an instrument to reveal many aspects of late medieval life in rich detail, most of which, but not all, full of the darker sides of humanity. I’m not a historian, so I can’t pass profound judgment upon how well the content was researched; however, in my ignorance, it looks like she has researched not only Hawkwood’s story but many other related topics well enough to paint a vivid picture of life in northern Italy at that time.
The text is engaging, flowing so very well, starting at what seems like a frantic pace, slowing towards the end of the book; perhaps, because by now Hawkwood was in his mid-sixties, his life itself slowing somewhat. Frances’ language is eloquent throughout, except for dates, when she resorts to pidgin English: 20 March, instead of the 20th of March! It’s as if the main body of text is written by an educated person fluent in English, while the dates have been inserted by someone learning English as a third or forth language, having not yet learnt the basics of grammar.
Highly recommended reading!
August 23, 2018
14th century Italy was a battleground torn apart and ravaged by foreign mercenaries. Unfortunately, the city-states of the time depended on the mercenaries for individual survival and instead of kicking them out, they made war more profitable by hiring them. I loved this book because it helps me to better understand the political climate that Leonardo da Vinci grew up in and why his 8-foot bronze horse was destroyed.
What I love about the Devil's Broker is how outside of telling you the story of John Hawkwood, it covers some fascinating European medieval history that is quite comical at times. For example, the reason they call doctors "Quacks" is because of the face masks that they war during the days of the plague. Not to mention, some of the "cures" were downright hilarious, and if the disease didn't kill you the doctor would. I was entertained all throughout this book, and the author does a great job of never letting up the pace for a minute.
This is a book that I would highly recommend to anyone who's looking to learn more about medieval history in an interesting way because it talks about John Hawkwood in a spectacular way while never losing sight of the big picture of this bloody chapter in Italy's history.
What I love about the Devil's Broker is how outside of telling you the story of John Hawkwood, it covers some fascinating European medieval history that is quite comical at times. For example, the reason they call doctors "Quacks" is because of the face masks that they war during the days of the plague. Not to mention, some of the "cures" were downright hilarious, and if the disease didn't kill you the doctor would. I was entertained all throughout this book, and the author does a great job of never letting up the pace for a minute.
This is a book that I would highly recommend to anyone who's looking to learn more about medieval history in an interesting way because it talks about John Hawkwood in a spectacular way while never losing sight of the big picture of this bloody chapter in Italy's history.
November 20, 2022
Always a fascinating period to me, "the calamitous century" as historian Barbara Tuchman called it. Even more so the various mercenaries who sold their services to would ever pay them for the practice of arms, "the condottieri." Of them all, and there were many, the subject of this book stands out, Sir John Hawkwood. Finding himself out of work at one of the many pauses of the Hundred Years War, Hawkwood and his followers traveled to Italy and sold themselves to whomever could pay. And sometimes, much of the cash was lacking come payday! No matter Pope, Visconti, Cardinal, city-state or merchant someone was always coming up short. Not the thing to do when you have tired, hungry and horny mercenary soldiers on your doorstep.
Hawkwood to his credit earned a reputation that enabled him to fight in Italy for almost 30 years. And lived to tell about it. He was held in such reverence at the time of his death in 1394, that Florence commissioned a fresco of the captain in the Duomo cathedral, Santa Maria di Fiori.
The book is interesting but tedious in places. Author goes to great lengths to depict life in 14th Century Italy which the reader will find interesting. Of particular interest might be the machinations of the Papacy and the various schisms.
Hawkwood to his credit earned a reputation that enabled him to fight in Italy for almost 30 years. And lived to tell about it. He was held in such reverence at the time of his death in 1394, that Florence commissioned a fresco of the captain in the Duomo cathedral, Santa Maria di Fiori.
The book is interesting but tedious in places. Author goes to great lengths to depict life in 14th Century Italy which the reader will find interesting. Of particular interest might be the machinations of the Papacy and the various schisms.
September 20, 2019
1300's Italy, what could go wrong at this time period. The Renaissance is beginning, millions in Gold Florins are being spent on private armies, Black Death, poor harvests and famine, and millions spent on art, books, literature is expanding, the Church is in crisis, Etc Etc. On this seen arrives Hawkwood and the White Company, makes millions and has millions in costs. A quick read on a time that I am not overly familiar with. Very informative if your a history buff. Maps are excellent. The style is follow Hawkwoods career as a mercenary commander to respectable Florentine General. Digressions to how life was actually lived at this time covering eating, transport, politics, sex and religion, the three topics that are NOT discussed in a Gentleman's Mess. Good read and worth the time.
October 18, 2017
Wow. This is an intense history of the English mercenary John Hawkwood, who pillaged his way up and down the Italian peninsula in the 14th century. The violence was frankly shocking at times - the massacre at Cesena was something I'd never heard about, and was dumbfounded by the gratuitous cruelty. The depiction of the sad state of the medieval church (before, during, and after the Schism) was also - well, depressing and fascinating in a sickening way, with definite echoes in the modern power elite. Still, it was a fascinating read, and I'd definitely recommend it to any of my friends who are interested in condottieri, 14th century Italy, the history of warfare, or finding out more about the man on the wall of the cathedral in Florence.
January 21, 2024
A foray into how the turbulent war periods of Italian city-states created a vacuum into which one man was able to rise from general obscurity as a waylaid English veteran to one of the most powerful middlemen in Italian pre-Renaissance politics. Saunders wanders through generally exposing readers to life during the period and the conditions that led to the rise of mercenary companies to investigating how individual personalities interacted in ways that created conflict while at the same time finishing it. I recommend someone read this book if they are into Renaissance history, want to learn more about the often-less-covered stories of people who lived through it, or want a writer who can craft spicy metaphors in the smaller details of their sentences.
April 9, 2020
This is more a history of 14th century Italy built around the life of Hawkwood. I learned lots about the papacy, Northern Italian states and life i that time than I did about the ‘diabolical Englishman’. That’s probably because we just don’t have much in the way of primary sources related to Hawkwood. It’s clear thee are big gaps, and certain aspects of his relationships are pure speculation (like what is the deal with Catherine of Siena - lots is intimated with no facts). The history is interesting if a bit repetitive at times. I learned less than I expected about the condotieri and more than I expected about the corruption of the Catholic church.
February 28, 2022
just started this account of John Hawkwood, mercenary general and power broker in Italy for decades, a self-made millionaire and landowner, soldier, general, politician, power broker in the most turbulent and violent of times and places. Definately demonstrates the DANGERS OF CREATING ARMIES, USING THEM FOR YEARS, LEAVING THEM WITHOUT $ OR DIRECTION AT THE END OF THE WAR. WITHOUT WAR THEY HAD TO TURN THEIR ABILITIES TO THEFT AND EXTORTION ON A GRAND SCALE AND DID SO. After WW1 &WW2 the armies went home for the most part and peace returned except for some Eastern European rebellions ie Baltic states, Ukraine, against Stalin/USSR.
November 26, 2020
Hawkwood is a larger than life character, who’s is a fiction writers dream. This book brings his life and the 1400s right up in front of the reader, you can smell the rotting corpses and hear the dying screaming. This is non fiction at its best,which tells the story of one mans pursuit of glory and gold in the tribal society that was Italy.Spanning more than 50 years of war, famine, plague, death and intrigue. .....
September 14, 2021
Spännande med en helt ny värld för mig. Så boken var väldigt givande även om författaren var lite virrig och spekulerar en hel del. Illustrationerna kunde valts ut och behandlats bättre.
Centralpunkten och titeln på boken är Hawkwood, men man har ju inte så mycket information så det byggs upp med information om andra skeenden på 1300-talet. Upplysningar om organisation och taktik runt legokompanierna är nästan helt frånvarande. Hawkwood i sig, verkar varit en personligen ytterst charmig och övertalande person, men samtidigt skrupellös, och saker som massakern i Cesena gör att man nästan avskyr honom.
Men han lever i en brutal tid, i ett överlevnadssamhälle, men där de italienska stadsstaterna genom handel och banker tillskansar sig stora rikedomar. Man hade kommit långt från kyrkans fördömanden av ockrare där de förvägrades kristen begravning.
Att bara ha tillräckligt att äta, och visa detta, har ett enormt symbolvärde.
Frågan för människor är hela tiden, kommer jag, min grupp, mitt samhälle, min stat att överleva? Finnas kvar imorgon? Hoten får dagens covid-pandemi att verka löjlig, med 1300-talets digerdöd, svältperioder som dödar 10-20% av befolkningen och krig med massakrer om man inte kan försvara sig.
Centralpunkten och titeln på boken är Hawkwood, men man har ju inte så mycket information så det byggs upp med information om andra skeenden på 1300-talet. Upplysningar om organisation och taktik runt legokompanierna är nästan helt frånvarande. Hawkwood i sig, verkar varit en personligen ytterst charmig och övertalande person, men samtidigt skrupellös, och saker som massakern i Cesena gör att man nästan avskyr honom.
Men han lever i en brutal tid, i ett överlevnadssamhälle, men där de italienska stadsstaterna genom handel och banker tillskansar sig stora rikedomar. Man hade kommit långt från kyrkans fördömanden av ockrare där de förvägrades kristen begravning.
Att bara ha tillräckligt att äta, och visa detta, har ett enormt symbolvärde.
Frågan för människor är hela tiden, kommer jag, min grupp, mitt samhälle, min stat att överleva? Finnas kvar imorgon? Hoten får dagens covid-pandemi att verka löjlig, med 1300-talets digerdöd, svältperioder som dödar 10-20% av befolkningen och krig med massakrer om man inte kan försvara sig.
June 16, 2023
On the highbrow end of the Nightstand History for Dads spectrum. Engaging writing, but really bogged down about halfway through. Was John Hawkwood enough of a historic figure to carry a whole book? Perhaps not, as we get a bit lost in internecine prerenaissance Italian politics and don't find our way back until quite late.
November 18, 2023
This is an interesting introduction to the life of one of the most notorious condottiere of renaissance Italy. Hawkwood is an important figure in the history of fourteenth century Firenze, his funerary portrait still dominating the city’s duomo.
February 21, 2022
The Vatican, Avignon, and Italian city-states employ mercenary companies in petty wars with each other; leave it to an Englishman to profit of it for three decades.
October 7, 2016
If there had been proper footnotes, this would have been a better book.
The book is more about late fourteenth century Italy than it is about Hawkwood and mercenaries. What's there is very interesting, but the diversions from Hawkwood's story make it hard to follow. It's also very easy to lose interest in some of the asides.
The book is more about late fourteenth century Italy than it is about Hawkwood and mercenaries. What's there is very interesting, but the diversions from Hawkwood's story make it hard to follow. It's also very easy to lose interest in some of the asides.
March 19, 2010
There is no doubt that John Hawkwood - later Sir John - was a significant figure in 14th Century France and, especially, Italy. His role was as the leader of an unlawful band of mercenaries, in variable numbers but often in thousands, who sold themselves to the highest bidder in a volatile country of warring Communes. Changes of side were frequent and cynical. The package came complete with all services: not just battles and sieges but pillage, rape and destruction. The sums paid were huge and made Hawkwood a wealthy man - or perhaps only a man through whose hands large sums of money passed. Which brings us to the problem with Frances Stonor Saunders' book.
Undeniably, Hawkwood is the thread that runs throughout, but the real subject is the battle for power and influence in 14th Century Italy; when the pope spent seventy years attempting to reassert his position in Rome from a court in Avignon; when for a while there were two men claiming to be the true pope; when city states were either seeking alliances or making war on each other. This was a situation clearly ripe with rich pickings for a man who could offer the services of an army, and Hawkwood was that man.
Unfortunately, the author seems to have had to rely on patchy sources. She paints a vivid and historically reliable picture of the turbulent times, but Hawkwood flits in and out of them. Periodically there are impressive statistics concerning men and money and murders. But worryingly, the reader encounters caveats and qualifications: "it can be assumed that" ... "it is probable that" ... "we can assume that" ... " it is also likely that" and so on. Even given that these suppositions can be justified, they merely emphasise that the 14th Century was a long time ago and surviving records may not present the full picture.
Taken as the portrait of a time, The Devil's Broker has a good deal to offer the reader who does not get either bogged down in trying to recall who last betrayed whom or bored stiff by the insufferably pious Catherine of Siena. But it leaves the impression that it would have been more rewarding had it been possible to sharpen the focus.
Undeniably, Hawkwood is the thread that runs throughout, but the real subject is the battle for power and influence in 14th Century Italy; when the pope spent seventy years attempting to reassert his position in Rome from a court in Avignon; when for a while there were two men claiming to be the true pope; when city states were either seeking alliances or making war on each other. This was a situation clearly ripe with rich pickings for a man who could offer the services of an army, and Hawkwood was that man.
Unfortunately, the author seems to have had to rely on patchy sources. She paints a vivid and historically reliable picture of the turbulent times, but Hawkwood flits in and out of them. Periodically there are impressive statistics concerning men and money and murders. But worryingly, the reader encounters caveats and qualifications: "it can be assumed that" ... "it is probable that" ... "we can assume that" ... " it is also likely that" and so on. Even given that these suppositions can be justified, they merely emphasise that the 14th Century was a long time ago and surviving records may not present the full picture.
Taken as the portrait of a time, The Devil's Broker has a good deal to offer the reader who does not get either bogged down in trying to recall who last betrayed whom or bored stiff by the insufferably pious Catherine of Siena. But it leaves the impression that it would have been more rewarding had it been possible to sharpen the focus.
June 12, 2014
Thorough and very engaging bio of condottiere Sir John Hawkwood, the subject of Uccello's monumental Duomo painting and, if Terry Jones is right, the model for Chaucer's Knight. I read it to learn more about someone in whom I became interested while reading A Distant Mirror and, indeed, identical in form and contiguous in subject matter, the entire book is sort of an appendix to Tuchman's monumental popular history. Saunders isn't coy about acknowledging the debt.
My interest in the 14th century was sparked by reading Shakespeare's history plays this spring, and, I have to say, I've been a little astonished by the extent of my ignorance about some really basic developments in European history. Italy, for instance. My understanding of Italian history between, say, Rommulus Augustulus and Garibaldi could have been summed up by saying, as they do of relationships on Facebook, "It's complicated." I can't explain why I never wondered, with respect to the Renaissance, "Why Florence?." I guess I just assumed some sort of miraculous, fully-formed emergence of sophistication in this unaccountably blessed place. It never occurred to me to follow the money, as Deep Throat says. The florescence of Florentine art and culture was the ancillary fruit of the development of banking and modern warfare, and not due to a handful of oddballs reading Greek or some magical property of the Tuscan sun. That those two things (warcraft and finance) should have evolved hand-in-hand now, of course, seems obvious, but it struck me with the force of revelation.
Saunders' research is exhaustive and erudite, her analysis is sophisticated, and, apart from a few meandering paragraphs that could have used tighter edits, her prose is lucid.
Very impressed.
My interest in the 14th century was sparked by reading Shakespeare's history plays this spring, and, I have to say, I've been a little astonished by the extent of my ignorance about some really basic developments in European history. Italy, for instance. My understanding of Italian history between, say, Rommulus Augustulus and Garibaldi could have been summed up by saying, as they do of relationships on Facebook, "It's complicated." I can't explain why I never wondered, with respect to the Renaissance, "Why Florence?." I guess I just assumed some sort of miraculous, fully-formed emergence of sophistication in this unaccountably blessed place. It never occurred to me to follow the money, as Deep Throat says. The florescence of Florentine art and culture was the ancillary fruit of the development of banking and modern warfare, and not due to a handful of oddballs reading Greek or some magical property of the Tuscan sun. That those two things (warcraft and finance) should have evolved hand-in-hand now, of course, seems obvious, but it struck me with the force of revelation.
Saunders' research is exhaustive and erudite, her analysis is sophisticated, and, apart from a few meandering paragraphs that could have used tighter edits, her prose is lucid.
Very impressed.
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