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The Gondottiere leader Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the Sienese siege of Montemassi. This fresco in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, was painted by Simone Martini in 1328. (See MAA 50, Medieual European Armies, for colour reconstruction.)

stemmed from its superior, but far from perfect, discipline, tactics evolved in the Hundred Years War, ferocity in battle and, not least, greater physical size. This latter feature also contributed to the number of Italian wives and daughters who were sent on prolonged holidays to cities not blessed by the protection of these foreign troops.

The White Company’s cavalry, its men-at-arms, were divided into ‘lances’ of two soldiers— a caporale and his sąuire, though the former need not have been a dubbed knight—plus a ragazzo br page. Although they did fight on horseback, they also confounded their foes with infantry tactics in which the two men-at-arms held a single heavy lance as a pikę. With their abundant piąte armour they needed no shields, and could even act offensively by advancing in close ranks while pages brought up their horses in case of a sudden pursuit or retreat. Five ‘lances’ formed a ‘post’, five of which formed a bandiera or ‘flag’.

An even morę devastating innovation was the longbow. This completely outclassed the old simple short-bow, but lacked the rangę of thę composite and crossbows. Yet it combined the ratę of shooting of the former with the hitting power of the latter. Use of the longbow reąuired strength and lengthy training, which English veterans of the French wars certainly had. Such longbowmen, though possessing horses, also invariably fought on foot. Longbows could be found in Italy, for example at Lucca. But rapid improvements in crossbows, the increasing adoption of hand-held firearms and the influence of newer, post-Mongol