15. Renaissance Italy’s Most Enterprising Mercenary
Francesco Sforza (1401 – 1466) might have been the most enterprising mercenary of the Renaissance. An Italian condottiero, or soldier of fortune, Sforza’s life was full of twists and turns. He started off as a mercenary, then a mercenary general, during which career he turned on his employers and switched sides multiple times. By the time it was finally over and the dust had settled, he had made himself duke of Milan, and founded the Sforza Dynasty that ruled that city and strongly influenced northern Italy and Italian politics for a century.
Sforza was the illegitimate son of a mercenary commander. He got his start in the family business at age seventeen, when he began accompanying his father on campaigns. Sforza quickly developed a reputation for toughness and strength, and became famous for his ability to bend metal bars with his bare hands. Following his father’s drowning during battle against a rival in 1424, Sforza took command. Proving himself a brilliant tactician and battlefield commander, he went on to win the battle and killed his father’s rival while he was at it.
