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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

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

1364 年七月二十九日黎明時分，

約翰‧霍克伍德—— 曾當過英國士兵的僱傭兵——

an English soldier turned contract mercenary—

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

領導了一次出其不意的突襲， 對方是睡夢中的佛羅倫斯僱傭軍。

The enemy commander quickly awoke and gathered his men

敵方指揮官馬上叫醒

並召集他的人馬進行反擊。

to launch a counterattack.

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

但當防守方的軍隊準備好要作戰時，

Hawkwood’s fighters simply turned and walked away.

霍克伍德的戰士們卻調頭就走。

This wasn't an act of cowardice.

這不是因為他們很膽小。

These mercenaries, known as condottieri,

這些契約僱傭兵

had simply done just enough fighting to fulfill their contracts.

打的仗已經足夠完成 他們的契約了，如此而已。

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

對義大利的僱傭兵而言， 戰爭的重點不是榮耀或征服，

it was purely about getting paid.

純粹就只是賺錢。

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

十四和十五世紀大部分的時候，

僱傭兵主宰義大利的戰爭，

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

鼓勵該地區的嚴重 政治對立，並從中獲利。

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

最強大的地區

若不是由天主教教堂的 富裕代表所統治，

of the Catholic Church

or merchants who’d grown rich from international trade.

就是由透過國際貿易 致富的商人所統治。

These rulers competed for power and prestige

這些統治者相互競爭， 比權力也比名氣，

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

競爭方式是努力將最有才的 藝術家和思想家納入他們旗下，

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

促成了一場文化劇變，

即現在所知的義大利文藝復興。

But local rivalries also played out in military conflicts,

但當地的對立也會演變成軍事衝突，

fought almost entirely by the condottieri.

這些仗幾乎都由義大利僱傭兵來打。

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

這些菁英僱傭兵有許多 都是百年戰爭的退役軍人，

hailing from France and England.

來自法國和英格蘭。

When that war reached a temporary truce in 1360,

當該戰爭在 1360 年暫時停火時，

some soldiers began pillaging France in search of fortune.

有些士兵開始掠奪法國，尋求財富。

And the riches they found in Catholic churches

而他們在天主教教堂找到的財富

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

吸引他們的突擊隊前往 教堂的軍事行動中心地：

義大利。

But here, savvy ruling merchants saw these bandits’ arrival

但在這裡，精明的商人統治者 將這些強盜的抵達視為

as a golden opportunity.

前所未見的好機會。

By hiring the soldiers as mercenaries,

他們僱用這些士兵來當僱傭兵， 這麼一來就能控制暴力

they could control the violence and gain an experienced army

並擁有一支有經驗的軍隊，

without the cost of outfitting and training locals.

省下訓練當地人並提供他們 裝備所需要的成本。

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

僱傭兵也喜歡這種交易， 因為這樣就能有固定收入，

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

並讓他們能夠利用這些統治者 之間的對立來為自己謀利。

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

當然，必須要嚴格控制這些士兵。

Rulers forced them to sign elaborate contracts, or condotta,

統治者強迫他們簽署詳細的契約，

或稱「condotta」，

a word that became synonymous with the mercenaries themselves.

這個字後來變成了僱傭兵的同義字。

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

報酬瓜分、戰利品分配、 禁止競業契約——

it was all spelled out clearly,

通通清楚寫明，

making war merely another dimension of business.

讓戰爭成為只是另一種形式的商業。

Contracts specified the number of men a commander would provide,

契約會明確記載 指揮官會提供的人數，

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

組成的軍隊規模 從幾百人到數千人都有。

Individual soldiers regularly moved between armies

個別士兵經常會跳槽到 其他軍隊，尋求較高的報酬。

in search of higher payments.

And when their contracts expired,

當他們的契約到期，

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

僱傭兵指揮官就會成為自由僱傭兵，

不用期待他們會有持續的忠誠。

When John Hawkwood launched his surprise attack

約翰‧霍克伍德對佛羅倫斯 僱傭兵發動出其不意的突襲時，

against the Florentine condottieri,

he was working for Pisa.

他是在為比薩工作。

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

後來他又為佛羅倫斯 和比薩的許多其他敵人打仗。

But regardless of who was contracting them,

但，不論僱主是誰，

the condottieri fought primarily for themselves.

僱傭兵主要還是為自己而戰。

Their extensive military experience allowed them to avoid

他們豐富的經驗讓他們 可以在戰爭激烈時

taking unnecessary risks in the heat of battle.

避開不必要的風險。

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

且，雖然他們的衝突十分致命，

但卻很少會導致 壓倒性的勝利或戰敗。

or defeats.

Condottieri commanders wanted battles to be inconclusive—

僱傭兵指揮官會希望 戰爭結果不要太明確——

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

畢竟，如果他們建立了和平，

他們就要失業了。

So even when one side did win,

所以，即便有一方確實贏了，

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

敵方戰士通常會被當作人質扣留，

之後再被釋放，讓他們將來再戰。

But there was nothing merciful about these decisions.

但這些決策可一點都不是出於慈悲。

Contracts could just as easily turn them into ruthless killers,

契約同樣很容易讓他們 變成無情的殺手，

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

比如 1377 年，

霍克伍德帶頭在一個受飢荒 所苦的小鎮上進行屠殺，

who’d tried to revolt against the local government.

因為這個小鎮曾經 試圖反抗當地政府。

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

隨時間，外國僱傭兵漸漸 被當地的義大利人取代，

For young men from humble origins,

對於出身樸實的年輕人而言，

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

為了利益打仗是個誘人的選項， 取代務農或為教堂工作。

And this new generation of condottieri leveraged their military power

而這新一代的僱傭兵 將他們的軍事力量轉化

into political influence,

成為政治影響力，

in some cases even founding ruling dynasties.

有些例子甚至是資助 掌權的統治王朝。

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

然而，儘管壟斷義大利 戰爭市場近兩個世紀，

the condottieri only truly excelled at engaging in just enough

僱傭兵真正擅長的只有進行

足夠讓他們履約的近距離交戰。

close-range combat to fulfill their contracts.

Over time, they became outclassed by the gunpowder weaponry

時間一久，他們被超越了，

因為法國和西班牙的大型 常備軍隊有火藥型武器，

of France and Spain’s large standing armies,

as well as the naval might of the Ottomans.

奧斯曼帝國也有強大的海軍。

By the mid 16th century,

到了十六世紀中，

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

這些由國家贊助的軍隊迫使整個歐洲

進入新的戰爭時代，

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

讓僱傭兵的謀求私利的 戰爭遊戲就此畫下句點。