full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Stephanie Honchell Smith: The merciless mercenaries of the Italian Renaissance

Unscramble the Blue Letters


At dawn on July 29th, 1364, John Hawkwood— an English soldier turned ccaontrt mercenary— led a surprise attack against an army of sleeping Florentine mercenaries. The enmey commander quickly awoke and gaeetrhd his men to launch a counterattack. But as soon as the defending army was ready to fight, Hawkwood’s fighters smpily turned and wlkaed away. This wasn't an act of codcarwie. These mneareeircs, known as cniortetodi, had simply done just enough fighting to fulfill their contracts. And for Italy’s condottieri, war wasn’t about golry or conquest: it was pruley about getting paid.

For much of the 14th and 15th cinruetes, the condottieri domnteiad Italian warfare, profiting from— and encouraging— the region’s intense political rivalries. The most powerful of these regions were ruled either by wealthy representatives of the Catholic Church or merchants who’d grown rich from international trade. These rulers competed for power and prestige by working to attract the most talented artists and thinkers to their courts, leading to a crlautul explosion now known as the Italian Renaissance. But local rivalries also played out in military conflicts, fought almost entirely by the condottieri. Many of these elite mercenaries were veterans of the Hundred Years’ War, hailing from fancre and enangld. When that war reached a temporary truce in 1360, some soldiers began pillaging France in search of fortune. And the rciehs they found in Catholic churches drew their raiding parties to the center of the Church’s operations: itlay. But here, savvy ruling mhrentacs saw these bandits’ arrival as a golden opportunity. By hiirng the soldiers as mercenaries, they could control the violence and gain an experienced army without the cost of outfitting and training locals. The mercenaries liked this deal as well, as it offered regular income and the aibltiy to play these rulers off each other for their own benefit.

Open Cloze


At dawn on July 29th, 1364, John Hawkwood— an English soldier turned ________ mercenary— led a surprise attack against an army of sleeping Florentine mercenaries. The _____ commander quickly awoke and ________ his men to launch a counterattack. But as soon as the defending army was ready to fight, Hawkwood’s fighters ______ turned and ______ away. This wasn't an act of _________. These ___________, known as ___________, had simply done just enough fighting to fulfill their contracts. And for Italy’s condottieri, war wasn’t about _____ or conquest: it was ______ about getting paid.

For much of the 14th and 15th _________, the condottieri _________ Italian warfare, profiting from— and encouraging— the region’s intense political rivalries. The most powerful of these regions were ruled either by wealthy representatives of the Catholic Church or merchants who’d grown rich from international trade. These rulers competed for power and prestige by working to attract the most talented artists and thinkers to their courts, leading to a ________ explosion now known as the Italian Renaissance. But local rivalries also played out in military conflicts, fought almost entirely by the condottieri. Many of these elite mercenaries were veterans of the Hundred Years’ War, hailing from ______ and _______. When that war reached a temporary truce in 1360, some soldiers began pillaging France in search of fortune. And the ______ they found in Catholic churches drew their raiding parties to the center of the Church’s operations: _____. But here, savvy ruling _________ saw these bandits’ arrival as a golden opportunity. By ______ the soldiers as mercenaries, they could control the violence and gain an experienced army without the cost of outfitting and training locals. The mercenaries liked this deal as well, as it offered regular income and the _______ to play these rulers off each other for their own benefit.

Solution


  1. hiring
  2. merchants
  3. glory
  4. centuries
  5. dominated
  6. mercenaries
  7. purely
  8. cultural
  9. italy
  10. ability
  11. walked
  12. enemy
  13. simply
  14. france
  15. cowardice
  16. england
  17. gathered
  18. contract
  19. condottieri
  20. riches

Original Text


At dawn on July 29th, 1364, John Hawkwood— an English soldier turned contract mercenary— led a surprise attack against an army of sleeping Florentine mercenaries. The enemy commander quickly awoke and gathered his men to launch a counterattack. But as soon as the defending army was ready to fight, Hawkwood’s fighters simply turned and walked away. This wasn't an act of cowardice. These mercenaries, known as condottieri, had simply done just enough fighting to fulfill their contracts. And for Italy’s condottieri, war wasn’t about glory or conquest: it was purely about getting paid.

For much of the 14th and 15th centuries, the condottieri dominated Italian warfare, profiting from— and encouraging— the region’s intense political rivalries. The most powerful of these regions were ruled either by wealthy representatives of the Catholic Church or merchants who’d grown rich from international trade. These rulers competed for power and prestige by working to attract the most talented artists and thinkers to their courts, leading to a cultural explosion now known as the Italian Renaissance. But local rivalries also played out in military conflicts, fought almost entirely by the condottieri. Many of these elite mercenaries were veterans of the Hundred Years’ War, hailing from France and England. When that war reached a temporary truce in 1360, some soldiers began pillaging France in search of fortune. And the riches they found in Catholic churches drew their raiding parties to the center of the Church’s operations: Italy. But here, savvy ruling merchants saw these bandits’ arrival as a golden opportunity. By hiring the soldiers as mercenaries, they could control the violence and gain an experienced army without the cost of outfitting and training locals. The mercenaries liked this deal as well, as it offered regular income and the ability to play these rulers off each other for their own benefit.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
surprise attack 2
condottieri commanders 2


Important Words


  1. ability
  2. act
  3. army
  4. arrival
  5. artists
  6. attack
  7. attract
  8. awoke
  9. began
  10. benefit
  11. catholic
  12. center
  13. centuries
  14. church
  15. churches
  16. commander
  17. competed
  18. condottieri
  19. conflicts
  20. contract
  21. contracts
  22. control
  23. cost
  24. counterattack
  25. courts
  26. cowardice
  27. cultural
  28. dawn
  29. deal
  30. defending
  31. dominated
  32. drew
  33. elite
  34. enemy
  35. england
  36. english
  37. experienced
  38. explosion
  39. fight
  40. fighters
  41. fighting
  42. florentine
  43. fortune
  44. fought
  45. france
  46. fulfill
  47. gain
  48. gathered
  49. glory
  50. golden
  51. grown
  52. hailing
  53. hiring
  54. income
  55. intense
  56. international
  57. italian
  58. italy
  59. john
  60. july
  61. launch
  62. leading
  63. led
  64. local
  65. locals
  66. men
  67. mercenaries
  68. merchants
  69. military
  70. offered
  71. opportunity
  72. outfitting
  73. paid
  74. parties
  75. pillaging
  76. play
  77. played
  78. political
  79. power
  80. powerful
  81. prestige
  82. profiting
  83. purely
  84. quickly
  85. raiding
  86. reached
  87. ready
  88. regions
  89. regular
  90. renaissance
  91. representatives
  92. rich
  93. riches
  94. rivalries
  95. ruled
  96. rulers
  97. ruling
  98. savvy
  99. search
  100. simply
  101. sleeping
  102. soldier
  103. soldiers
  104. surprise
  105. talented
  106. temporary
  107. thinkers
  108. trade
  109. training
  110. truce
  111. turned
  112. veterans
  113. violence
  114. walked
  115. war
  116. warfare
  117. wealthy
  118. working