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Gli Condottieri
Retired [X] Chaos

Gli Condottieri

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Italian city-states were becoming enriched by their trade with the Orient. These cities, such as Venice, Florence, and Genoa, had woefully small armies and were increasingly becoming targets of attack by foreign powers as well as envious neighbours. The noblemen ruling the cities soon resorted to hiring companies of mercenaries known as condotta ("contract") to defend their territories. Each condotta was led by a condottiere, a term which soon became synonymous with "captain".

The very first of these bands (called in contemporary Italy masnada, plural masnade) appeared between the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of fourteenth centuries and were not of Italian origin. Soldiers came mainly from Germany, Brabant (brabanzoni), Aragon and Catalonia: the last, for example, had come to Italy following King Peter III of Aragon in the October 1282 and had remained there afterward searching for employers. Other mercenaries came in 1333 alongside John of Bohemia, and therefore served Perugia in his war against Arezzo with the name Compagnia della Colomba ("Dove Company"). Some of these masnade were merely a grouping of bandits and other desperate men.

From the 15th century onward the companies' leaders were mainly Italian: they were nobles who for some reason had not been able to succeed in their lands and had therefore chosen the fighting life. In that century, the most famous condottiero was Giovanni dalle Bande Nere from Forlì, son of Caterina Sforza. He also known as "the last condottiero" (but that means "the last famous condottiero"). His son was Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.

Sometimes even princes fought for some periods as condottieri in order to increase their revenues: the most notable cases are Sigismondo Malatesta, lord of Rimini, and Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino. Incomes were high indeed, though it should be noted that inflation was high in Italy during the period:

1,900 florins a month in 1432: Micheletto Attendolo from Florence
6,600 florins a month in 1448: Guglielmo of Monferrato from Francesco Sforza of Milan (the pay of the troops was only half this sum)
33,000 scudi a year for 250 men in 1505: Francesco Gonzaga from Florence
100,000 scudi a year for 200 men in the same year: Francesco Maria della Rovere also from Florence

The leaders of these new condottieri companies were not chosen by their men, but viceversa. The condotta become a consolidated form of contract. When the contract period (ferma) ceased, the company must wait another period called aspetto ("wait") in which the State kept the possibility of renewing it. If the contract ended in a definitive way, the condottiero could not declare war upon the other contracting party before two years had passed.
New Team Page Beta
Player Ma St Ag Av Skills Inj G Cp Td It Cs Mvp SPP Cost  
1
Duke Werner of Urslingen
Chaos Warrior
5 4 3 9   5 1 0 0 1 0 3/ 100k
(110)k
  
2
Count Konrad von Landau
Chaos Warrior
5 4 3 9   5 0 0 0 1 0 2/ 100k
(110)k
  
3
Guglielmo of Monferrato
Chaos Warrior
5 4 3 9
Block
   5 0 0 0 3 1 11/ 120k
(125)k
  
4
Cesare Borgia
Chaos Warrior
5 4 3 9   5 1 0 0 1 0 3/ 100k
(110)k
  
5
Braccio da Montone
Beastman
6 3 3 8
Horns
   2 0 0 0 0 0 0/ 60k
(60)k
  
6
Castruccio Castracani Lord of Lucca
Beastman
6 3 3 8
Horns
Claw
   5 0 0 0 0 2 10/ 90k
(90)k
  
7
Gattamelata
Troll
4 5 1 9
Always Hungry, Big Guy, Mighty Blow, Really Stupid, Regenerate, Throw Team Mate
   1 0 0 0 0 0 0/ 100k
(94)k
  
8
Alberico da Barbiano
Beastman
6 3 3 8
Horns
   4 1 0 0 0 0 1/ 60k
(60)k
  
9
Francesco Sforza
Beastman
6 3 3 8
Horns
   4 0 0 0 0 0 0/ 60k
(60)k
  
10
Giovanni Ordelaffi
Beastman
6 3 3 8
Horns
   0 0 0 0 0 0 0/ 60k
(60)k
  
11
Giovanni dalle Bande Nere
Beastman
6 3 3 8
Horns
   4 0 0 0 0 0 0/ 60k
(60)k
  
12
Niccolò di Pitigliano
Beastman
6 3 3 8
Horns
   3 0 0 0 0 0 0/ 60k
(60)k
  
12 players  
Coach: coalheart Re-Rolls (140k): 2  
Race: Chaos Fan Factor: 2  
Current Team Value: 0k Assistant Coaches: 2  
Treasury: 0k Cheerleaders: 0  
Team Value: 1200k Apothecary: Yes  

Games Played:5 (0/0/5) |TD Diff:-11 (0 - 11) |Cas Diff:-8 (5/1/0 - 5/7/2)
Last Opponent: Mighty Gladiators