condottiere

Later we behold in him a papal nepot-prince in whom the Pope endeavored to embody all mundane power and honor; he made him his condottiere, his warder, his body-guard, and, finally, his worldly heir.

From Lucretia Borgia According to Original Documents and Correspondence of Her Day by Ferdinand Gregorovius

On which side of a quarrel a condottiere fought mattered but little, so great was the confusion of Italian politics, and so complete was the egotism of these fraudful, violent, and treacherous party leaders.

From New Italian sketches by John Addington Symonds

The earliest writers on the new tactics necessitated by villainous saltpetre were Italians trained in condottiere warfare.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Ernest Weekley

It is old Gattamelata, the condottiere of the Venetian forces in the long wars with Padua.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 20, September, 1877. by Various

As for the others, they were clerks, who in one way or another had managed to get their seats—men with no great permanent stake in the community, the modern substitute for the condottiere class.

From The Man Who Wins by Robert Herrick

Xenophon became in essence a mercenary lord, somewhat like the condottieri of Renaissance Italy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Like the humanist condottieri of 15th century Italy, they built themselves impregnable and magnificent castles.

From Time Magazine Archive

The chosen electors went about that serious task with all the noble intent and show of national interest of a group of condottieri.

From Time Magazine Archive

As a result, these condottieri have conducted Italy into slavery and disgrace.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

This man, as I said, having been named by the Syracusans commander of their armies, immediately realized that mercenary forces were useless, since their condottieri were men like our Italian condottieri.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli