Description
Europe in the late 15th and early 16th centuries was a place of almost constant warfare. With no organised national armies, battlefields were the domain of the mercenary companies of the day – chief amongst these were the colourfully dressed Landsknechts.
Landsknechts were instigated by the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I, as a reaction to the Swiss mercenary pikemen that had dominated battlefields for decades before the Italian Wars (1494-1559).
They would be found in most armies in Western Europe of the time, even appearing in the British Isles in the service of Henry VIII. Clashes between rival Landsknecht regiments were particularly bloody, becoming known as ‘Bad War’.
The toughest of a rough bunch were the veteran Doppelsöldner – soldiers on double pay. Their extra payment was for volunteering to fight in the front ranks and the inherent risk that entailed. The trick was surviving to claim the extra pay!
Doppelsöldner would most often be armed
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