Landsknecht
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"Five Landsknechts", (Daniel Hopfer, XVI. century)
Landsknecht (German. Landsknecht)
— German mercenary infantryman of the Renaissance The term was first introduced around 1470 by Peter van Hagenbach, a chronicler of the Burgundian Duke Charles the Bold Landsknechts were hired mainly from representatives of the lower class (the poor) as opposed to knights nobles, although the latter often held the positions of senior officers in the formations of Landsknechts In addition, the Landsknechts were a kind of" German answer " to the Swiss infantry.
It is worth noting the hostility of the Landsknechts to the Swiss, as a result of which both of them, fighting with each other, did not take prisoners.
Like any mercenaries (and often ordinary troops), in the conditions of war, the Landsknechts were not averse to robbery and robbery.
It should be noted that the looting was partly due to the lack of a supply system in the armies of that era, which appeared in its infancy during the Thirty Years ' War.
Thus, the only way to provide the army with food was to withdraw it from the population.
It was believed that a landsknecht earned more in a month than a peasant earned in a year.
The Landsknechts who fought in the front ranks for double salaries were called Doppelholders Troops of mercenaries landsknechts and reitar, which became widespread in Europe from the end of the XV century to the beginning of the XVIII century.
they were a transitional link from the knight cavalry of the Middle Ages to the regular armies of the new time, which were completed with recruits.
Content
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1 Organization 2 Clothing 3 Weapons and armor 4 See also 5 References
Organization[edit / edit wiki text]
The standard bearer fights with 5 landsknechts.
By Daniel Hopfer
The detachment of landsknechts was usually called a company, which in many European languages also means "company" (English company; French compagnie; it. compagnia; Spanish compañía; German. Kompanie).
The number of these companies, unlike modern companies, could reach several hundred or even thousands of people.
At the head of the company was the captain, who was the senior military commander, as well as the treasurer of the company, whose task was to find an employer, conclude a favorable contract with him and distribute payment among the members of the company according to their position and merits.
The captain established the company's charter — a set of disciplinary rules that defined the duties and responsibilities of the company's members, he was also the highest judge who passed a sentence for violations of these norms.
Discipline in the company was maintained by severe measures — corporal punishment (for insubordination), and in the case of serious crimes (fleeing from the battlefield) and the death penalty.
Punishments were appointed by the captain and were usually executed before the general formation — they served as a means of educating not only the person being punished, but also the whole company.
The robbery of civilians or prisoners of war was not considered a great sin, and sometimes a city taken by storm was given for several days "to plunder" the company, as an incentive.
Sometimes the captain appointed himself one or more assistant lieutenants (from the French lieu tenant deputy) Depending on the size of the company, it could be divided into smaller units, headed by lower — ranking commanders sergeants, corporals, field sergeants.
The leaders of the companies were also called condottieri (from Ital. condotta — employment contract).
Representatives of the highest noble aristocracy often acted as condottieri.
Monarchs, large feudal lords, and free cities acted as employers of landsknecht companies.
The supply of the company was provided, as a rule, by sutlers — merchants who specialized in selling all kinds of goods to mercenaries.
The Landsknechts earned well and did not make savings, so this trade was very profitable, and there was no shortage of sutlers.
In the campaign, the company was followed by a large wagon train, in which there were sutlers with goods, artisans serving the Landsknechts (gunsmiths, tailors, shoemakers, barbers, etc.), mobile brothels, carts with personal property of the Landsknechts and even with their families.
Despite all the costs, the mercenary troops of the Landsknechts during the disintegration of feudal society proved to be more effective than the striking force of the feudal troops the knight cavalry, and during the XVI century completely replaced the latter for the following reasons.
With the spread of firearms, the invulnerability of armored knights and the inaccessibility of their castles are coming to naught.
"The cannon killed feudalism" is a saying attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.
The knights 'cavalry consisted mainly of representatives of the" noble "class, which was relatively small, so the Landsknechts' troops, recruited from all classes, outnumbered the knights ' formations — the employer would have had enough money.
The knights — the elite of feudal society had their own political ambitions.
They are indispensable participants in conspiracies and palace coups, and often they betrayed their overlord in favor of a pretender to the throne, while landsknechts served only for money and, as a rule (provided they were paid generously and regularly), had no motives for participating in political intrigues, and therefore enjoyed great confidence from the monarchs.
A suit with wide sleeves and trousers, huge hats with feathers — the clothes of the landsknechts were the most decorated and provocative during the Renaissance.
Emperor Maximilian I granted the Landsknechts freedom from the laws governing the style and appearance of clothing that other subjects obeyed: "Their life is so short and joyless that magnificent clothes are one of their few pleasures.
I'm not going to take it away from them."
Their garments were famous for their decoration in the style of "boofs and slits", which arose as a result of cutting through the outer clothing and stuffing the lower layers through these slits.
The style of "boofs and cuts" in clothing was also adopted by other peoples, becoming a common type of jewelry in some parts of Europe.
Some of the English nobility were fascinated by the "puffs and cuts".
Henry VIII began to dress in this style after seeing the clothes of the landsknechts he hired; in fact, the famous portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein depicts him in a doublet decorated with puffs and slits.
Other portraits of Heinrich depict him wearing what looked like a knee length skirt; he adopted this style from the German military skirts worn by some Landsknechts.
Henry's children, Edward VI and Elizabeth I also dressed in this style.
Since in battles, mercenaries often appeared on both sides of the conflict, who looked exactly the same, in order to distinguish "their own" from "strangers" in hand to hand combat, landsknechts belonging to the same company wore wide ribbons of cloth of the same color on their hats, on their belts, in the form of a shoulder bandage, or a sling over their shoulders.
This gave rise to calling each company of landsknechts a gang of the corresponding color (from the German das Band ribbon).
And thanks to the behavior of the Landsknechts in relation to the civilian population, the word "gang" has acquired a new meaning in European practice — a stable armed criminal group.
However, the term "bandum" (from Lat. - "banner") was used to designate a military unit even in the Byzantine army, which gives reason to doubt the validity of linking this term to landsknechts.
Also in the landsknecht costume, a huge codpiece is remembered, reflecting the fashion trends of its time, which some stuffed with cotton wool for size and to soften the blow.
Also, a purse could easily fit into the codpiece, and landsknechts on a double salary had codpieces as an element of armor.
The appearance of the warriors (in a somewhat exaggerated form) is displayed in the paintings of Urs Graf.
Weapons and armor[edit / edit wiki text]
Koshkoder
Landsknechts could be armed with the following types of weapons:
Bladed weapons Zweihender (two handed sword) Flamberg (two handed or one and a half sword with a wavy blade) Koshkoder (or Katzbalger, its size ranged from 35 to 120 cm, although the standard version had a size of about 70 cm.
It was used as an additional weapon to the pike/zweihander/flamberg/arquebuse, etc.
He changed the role: from a knife to a one and a half sword, but basically it can be classified as a short sword for close combat) Gross Messer (two handed saber)
The shaft weapon of the Pike is a Halberd
Arquebus firearm Wheel pistol (only for senior officers)
The characteristic armor of the Landsknechts was the 3/4 armor (a special type of incomplete armor protection), also known as"Landsknecht armor".
See also[edit / edit wiki text]
Condottiere Landsknecht armor Galloglass Maximilian I Maximilian II Reitars Thirty Years ' War Looting
Links[edit / edit wiki text]
Landsknechts // Brockhaus and Efron's Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 86 vols.
(82 volumes and 4 supplements).
- St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
Mercenaries // Brockhaus and Efron's Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 86 vols.
(82 volumes and 4 supplements).
- St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
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Categories: Infantry Military formations and units of the Middle Ages Mercenaries
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