What does condottieri mean?
Condottieri were the professional military commanders who led companies of mercenary soldiers in Italy between roughly the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. The word is simply the plural of condottiere, and both terms derive from the Italian condotta, meaning the contract under which a captain and his troops were engaged. Because the independent city-states of the Renaissance lacked large standing armies, they hired these captains and their bands to fight their wars, making the condottieri central figures in the period's political and military history. The term carries connotations of soldiering for pay rather than for country or cause, and by extension it is sometimes applied figuratively to any military leader seen as serving the highest bidder. Condottieri appear chiefly in historical writing, biography, and art-history contexts — many, such as Federico da Montefeltro, were also notable patrons — and remain a vivid shorthand for the politics of Renaissance Italy.
nounThe plural of condottiere: military commanders who led bands of mercenary soldiers in Italy, especially during the 14th to 16th centuries.
- Plural of condottiere: leaders of mercenary companies in medieval and Renaissance Italy.
- By extension, any mercenary military leaders regarded as serving whoever pays them.
"The Renaissance city-states relied heavily on condottieri to fight their wars."
"The condottieri switched allegiance whenever a richer patron offered better terms."
"Historians debate how much the tactics of the condottieri shaped warfare in fifteenth-century Italy."
'Condottieri' is already the plural; the singular is 'condottiere'. Both forms are treated as naturalized in English.
"Several condottieri served the Medici over the course of the fifteenth century."
Italy's most famous Renaissance generals weren't Italians fighting for glory — they were hired swords whose contracts could be bought out mid-war.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of condottieri
Condottieri is the plural of the Italian condottiere, from condotta, meaning the contract or stipend by which a captain and his company were hired. Condotta derives from the verb condurre, 'to lead or conduct', which comes from Latin conducere, formed from com- ('together') and ducere ('to lead'). This same Latin root gives English words such as conduct, duke, educate, and introduce. The term entered European usage during the late Middle Ages as the Italian city-states came to depend on hired captains, and it has been used in English since at least the early modern period in historical writing about Italy.
Related word forms
How condottieri is actually used
Used almost exclusively in historical contexts relating to Renaissance Italy; in modern usage it often appears in scholarly or journalistic writing about mercenary forces. The word is an Italian plural form and is typically treated as a naturalized English plural.
Easily confused with condottieri
'Condottiere' is the singular form denoting one such commander, while 'condottieri' is its plural.