The purpose of this treatise is to determine the essence and role of mercenaries in the western tradition. The approach is to delineate, analyze and compare mercenary phenomena in their various settings from their ancient European forms around the Mediterranean Sea to the early 20th century. The term mercenary is applied to a variety of historical situations which do not appear to have elements in common. This treatise attempts to provide a basis for insight into the mercenary phenomena of history and for a more precise use of the word in describing mercenary situations.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.