Landsknecht soldier, 1486-1560

This volume reveals the true-life experiences of a Landsknecht and one of his arch-enemies, the "Schweizer" using first-hand accounts to give a real "soldiers eye view". The book studies the habits and working life of a Landsknecht, in a time when there was no such thing as a military career. Chivalry was dead and the battlefield was ruled by the lower orders. What made a man give up a stable civilian life for the insecurities of a military existence? More importantly, what conditions of service could induce him to stay? Contemporary sources in German, Italian and Spanish are used to view the everyday life of the soldiers of this period.