Editing Mercenary (section)

====15th and 16th centuries====
[[File:Urs Graf Schrecken des Kriegs 1521.jpg|thumb|The battlefield of [[Battle of Marignano|Marignano]], drawing by [[Urs Graf]], himself a Swiss mercenary who may have fought there]]
[[File:Five German Soldiers MET DP822162.jpg|thumb|Landsknechte, [[etching]] by [[Daniel Hopfer]], {{Circa|1530}}]]
[[Swiss mercenaries]] were sought during the late 15th and early 16th centuries as being an effective fighting force, until their somewhat rigid battle formations became vulnerable to [[Harquebus|arquebuses]] and [[artillery]] being developed at the same time. The [[Swiss Guard]] in particular were employed by the [[Papal States]] from 1506 (continuing to serve today as the military of [[Vatican City]]).

It was then that the German [[landsknecht]]s, colourful mercenaries with a redoubtable reputation, took over the Swiss forces' legacy and became the most formidable force of the late 15th and throughout the 16th century, being hired by all the powers in Europe and often fighting at opposite sides. Sir [[Thomas More]] in his [[Utopia (More book)|Utopia]] advocated the use of mercenaries in preference to citizens. The barbarian mercenaries employed by the Utopians are thought to be inspired by the Swiss mercenaries.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}

At approximately the same period, [[Niccolò Machiavelli]] argued against the use of mercenary armies in his book of political advice ''[[The Prince]]''. His rationale was that since the sole motivation of mercenaries is their pay, they will not be inclined to take the kind of risks that can turn the tide of a battle, but may cost them their lives. He also noted that a mercenary who failed was obviously no good, but one who succeeded may be even more dangerous. He astutely pointed out that a successful mercenary army no longer needs its employer if it is more militarily powerful than its supposed superior. This explained the frequent, violent betrayals that characterized mercenary/client relations in Italy, because neither side trusted the other. He believed that citizens with a real attachment to their home country will be more motivated to defend it and thus make much better soldiers.

The [[Stratioti]] or Stradioti (Italian: Stradioti or Stradiotti; Greek: Στρατιώτες, Stratiotes) were mercenary units from the Balkans recruited mainly by states of southern and central Europe from the 15th until the middle of the 18th century. The stradioti were recruited in [[Albania]], Greece, [[Dalmatia]], [[Serbia]] and later [[Cyprus]]. Most modern historians have indicated that the Stratioti were mostly Albanians. According to a study by a Greek author, around 80% of the listed names attributed to the stradioti were of Albanian origin while most of the remaining ones, especially those of officers, were of Greek origin; a small minority were of South Slavic origin. Among their leaders there were also members of some old Byzantine Greek noble families such as the [[Palaiologoi]] and [[Comneni]]. The stratioti were pioneers of light cavalry tactics during this era. In the early 16th century heavy cavalry in the European armies was principally remodeled after Albanian stradioti of the Venetian army, Hungarian [[hussars]] and German mercenary cavalry units (Schwarzreitern). They employed hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, feigned retreats and other complex maneuvers. In some ways, these tactics echoed those of the Ottoman sipahis and akinci. They had some notable successes also against French heavy cavalry during the Italian Wars. They were known for cutting off the heads of dead or captured enemies, and according to [[Philippe de Commines|Commines]] they were paid by their leaders one [[ducat]] per head.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}

In Italy, during inter-family conflicts such as the [[Wars of Castro]], mercenaries were widely used to supplement the much smaller forces loyal to particular families.<ref>Joseph Farrell & Michael C. J. Putnam (2010), [https://books.google.com/books?id=nVWUluw8X8wC&dq=%22mercenaries%22+%22war+of+castro%22&pg=PA263 ''A Companion to Vergil's Aeneid and Its Tradition''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215134438/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=nVWUluw8X8wC&pg=PA263&lpg=PA263&dq=%22mercenaries%22+%22war+of+castro%22&source=bl&ots=VuzmVa8l53&sig=Hrm8VtOODq8VKLmPw-lgT17nXBU&hl=en&ei=7gU0TKrjOofJccf6hd0D&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result#v=onepage&q=%22mercenaries%22%20%22war%20of%20castro%22&f=false |date=15 February 2023 }}</ref> Often these were further supplemented by troops loyal to particular ''[[Italian nobility|duchies]]'' which had sided with one or more of the belligerents.