Hungarian Mercenaries in Italy in the 14th Century: An Analysis of a Mercenary Contract of 1361

Abstract

Hungarian mercenaries began to operate in Italy in the 1340s. The reason for their appearance in the Kingdom of Naples was the planned dynastic link between the Neopolitan and the Hungarian branches of the Angevin family. Hungarian warriors arrived in Italy in greater numbers during the campaigns of King Louis I, who intended to occupy the Neopolitan kingdom for himself after the assassination of his younger brother, Andrew, by accomplices of his wife, Joan of Naples. After the failure of these campaigns, a considerable number of Hungarian warriors stayed in Italy and undertook mercenary service there. This study seeks to analyse a mercenary contract surviving from 1361, which was concluded by the king and queen of Naples and the mercenary company called Magna Societas Ungarorum. The text provides us with an excellent insight into the conditions under which these warriors fought and the expectations on behalf of the contracting parties. It also allows us to conclude to what extent the points of the agreement could be put into practice.