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Condottiere - LoveToKnow 1911 |
 | | CONDOTTIERE (plural, condottieri), an Italian term, derived ultimately from Latin conducere, meaning either "to conduct" or "to hire," for the leader of the mercenary military companies, often several thousand strong, which used to be hired out to carry on the wars of the Italian states. |
 | | Shortly after, the organization of these mercenary armies was carried to the highest perfection by Sforza Attendolo, condottiere in the service of Naples, who had been a peasant of the Romagna, and by his rival Brancaccio di Montone in the service of Florence. |
 | | Less fortunate was another great condottiere, Carmagnola, who first served one of the Visconti, and then conducted the wars of Venice against his former masters, but at last awoke the suspicion of the Venetian oligarchy, and was put to death before the palace of St Mark (1432). |
| www.1911encyclopedia.org /Condottiere (706 words) |
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