White Company

The White Company (Italian: Compagnia Bianca del Falco) was a 14th-century English mercenary Free company (Italian: Compagnia di ventura), led from its arrival in Italy in 1361 to 1363 by the German Albert Sterz and later by the Englishman John Hawkwood.

[4] This view might be supported by the fact that mercenaries led by Arnaud de Cervole in France at this time were known as bandes blanches.

[5] Despite it being commonly referred to as the English Company, personnel were drawn from a wide range of nationalities, reflecting the international nature of Italian mercenary warfare in the 14th century, including at various times Germans, Italians and Hungarians but mostly English and French veterans of the Hundred Years' War.

In addition to its military structure, the company had an administrative staff, usually Italian, of chancellors and notaries who managed the legal and contractual aspects of the company's relationship with its employers, and a treasurer to handle its financial affairs.

Contemporary witnesses record that the company fought dismounted and in close order, advancing with two men-at-arms holding the same lance at a slow pace while shouting loud battle cries.

[18] The book was popular as an adventure novel, its well-chosen title raising the profile of the historical company among a lay readership.