The rise and fall of Italy’s warriors-for-hire - Stephanie Honchell Smith

翻译人员: Jacky He 校对人员: Sue Lu

At dawn on July 29th, 1364, John Hawkwood—

1364 年 7 月 29 日黎明， 约翰·霍克伍德 (John Hawkwood) ——

an English soldier turned contract mercenary—

一位曾是英国士兵的雇佣兵——

led a surprise attack against an army of sleeping Florentine mercenaries.

带头向一队熟睡的 佛罗伦萨雇佣兵发起突袭。

The enemy commander quickly awoke and gathered his men

敌方头领醒来后迅速召集人马

to launch a counterattack.

进行反攻。

But as soon as the defending army was ready to fight,

但当防守军队准备战斗时，

Hawkwood’s fighters simply turned and walked away.

霍克伍德的战士掉头离开了。

This wasn't an act of cowardice.

这不是胆怯。

These mercenaries, known as condottieri,

这些雇佣兵 (condottieri)

had simply done just enough fighting to fulfill their contracts.

已进行的战斗刚好达到和约条件。

And for Italy’s condottieri, war wasn’t about glory or conquest:

而对于意大利的雇佣兵而言 战争不是为了荣耀和征服，

it was purely about getting paid.

仅是一种谋生手段。

For much of the 14th and 15th centuries, the condottieri dominated Italian warfare,

在 14 和 15 世纪大部分时间里， 雇佣兵主宰着意大利的战场，

profiting from— and encouraging— the region’s intense political rivalries.

鼓动地方激烈政治争斗并从中获利。

The most powerful of these regions were ruled either by wealthy representatives

最强势地区受天主教会中

of the Catholic Church

富有的当权者

or merchants who’d grown rich from international trade.

或跨国贸易中致富的商人所掌控。

These rulers competed for power and prestige

这些统治者比拼着名誉和实力，

by working to attract the most talented artists and thinkers to their courts,

将最具才华的艺术家和 思想家吸纳至他们的行列，

leading to a cultural explosion now known as the Italian Renaissance.

导致名为意大利文艺复兴的文化繁荣。

But local rivalries also played out in military conflicts,

但地方矛盾也导致了军事冲突，

fought almost entirely by the condottieri.

这些战斗几乎完全由雇佣兵承担，

Many of these elite mercenaries were veterans of the Hundred Years’ War,

其中许多精英参与过百年战争，

hailing from France and England.

是英国和法国的老兵。

When that war reached a temporary truce in 1360,

当冲突在 1360 年短暂停火时，

some soldiers began pillaging France in search of fortune.

一些士兵开始掠劫法国的财宝。

And the riches they found in Catholic churches

在天主教教堂中寻得的财宝

drew their raiding parties to the center of the Church’s operations: Italy.

将他们引至教会权利中心——意大利。

But here, savvy ruling merchants saw these bandits’ arrival

这里的精明商人统治者把掠夺者的到来

as a golden opportunity.

看作天赐良机。

By hiring the soldiers as mercenaries,

雇这些士兵为雇佣兵，

they could control the violence and gain an experienced army

可以阻止暴乱，得到一支熟练的部队，

without the cost of outfitting and training locals.

从而省下训练和装备当地居民的成本。

The mercenaries liked this deal as well, as it offered regular income

雇佣兵喜欢这笔带来稳定收入的交易，

and the ability to play these rulers off each other for their own benefit.

令他们能从挑拨当权者制造矛盾获利。

Of course, these soldiers had to be kept on a tight leash.

当然了，这些士兵得严加管控；

Rulers forced them to sign elaborate contracts, or condotta,

当权者迫使他们签订 复杂的和约 (condotta)，

a word that became synonymous with the mercenaries themselves.

这词成为了雇佣兵的代名词。

Divisions of payment, distribution of plunder, non-compete agreements—

薪酬发放，战利品分配， 互不竞争协议…

it was all spelled out clearly,

全都清楚标明了，

making war merely another dimension of business.

打仗不过是做生意的另一种形式。

Contracts specified the number of men a commander would provide,

和约规定了长官的部队人数，

and the resulting armies ranged from a few hundred to several thousand.

军队规模由数百到几千不等。

Individual soldiers regularly moved between armies

士兵们经常性更换军队，

in search of higher payments.

以寻得更高的报酬。

And when their contracts expired,

当和约到期时，

condottieri commanders became free agents with no expectation of ongoing loyalty.

雇佣兵长官成为自由人， 不用继续效忠。

When John Hawkwood launched his surprise attack

当约翰·霍克伍德向 佛罗伦萨雇佣兵

against the Florentine condottieri,

发起突袭时，

he was working for Pisa.

他在为比萨而战；

Later, he would fight for Florence and many of Pisa’s other enemies.

之后他会为佛罗伦萨以及 许多其他比萨的敌人卖命。

But regardless of who was contracting them,

但不论雇主是谁，

the condottieri fought primarily for themselves.

雇佣兵首先为自己而战。

Their extensive military experience allowed them to avoid

他们长期的军事经验使他们得以

taking unnecessary risks in the heat of battle.

在激烈战斗中减少各类风险。

And— while still deadly— their clashes rarely led to crushing victories

虽然十分致命，他们的冲突 很少涉及彻底的胜利

or defeats.

或败落。

Condottieri commanders wanted battles to be inconclusive—

雇佣兵长官希望战斗无果而终——

after all, if they established peace, they’d put themselves out of business.

如果达成和平，他们便会失业。

So even when one side did win,

所以即使一方取得胜利，

enemy combatants were typically held hostage and released to fight another day.

将敌方战士俘虏， 随后也会释放他们以继续战斗。

But there was nothing merciful about these decisions.

但这些决定与仁慈无关。

Contracts could just as easily turn them into ruthless killers,

和约能轻易使他们成为冷血杀手，

as in 1377, when Hawkwood led the massacre of a famine-stricken town

例如 1377 年，霍克伍德带队 在一座饥荒城镇进行屠杀，

who’d tried to revolt against the local government.

因为百姓试图反抗当地政府。

Over time, foreign condottieri were increasingly replaced by native Italians.

逐渐地，外国雇佣兵 被本土意大利人取代。

For young men from humble origins,

对身世卑微的年轻人来说，

war-for-profit offered an attractive alternative to farming or the church.

有利可图的战争 是务农和神职以外的诱人出路。

And this new generation of condottieri leveraged their military power

新一代的雇佣兵将其军事实力

into political influence,

转为政治影响力，

in some cases even founding ruling dynasties.

甚至建立新的王朝。

However, despite cornering the market on Italian warfare for nearly two centuries,

不过，即便占据了 意大利战争市场近两个世纪，

the condottieri only truly excelled at engaging in just enough

雇佣兵只善于参与近距离战斗

close-range combat to fulfill their contracts.

以履行合约。

Over time, they became outclassed by the gunpowder weaponry

逐渐地，他们被法国和西班牙

of France and Spain’s large standing armies,

庞大常备军队的火药武器，

as well as the naval might of the Ottomans.

以及奥斯曼帝国的海军力量所超越。

By the mid 16th century,

到了 16 世纪中期，

these state-sponsored militaries forced all of Europe into a new era of warfare,

这些国家支持的军队 迫使欧洲进入新的战争时代，

putting an end to the condottieri’s conniving war games.

从此结束雇佣军的纵容战争游戏。