The article discusses the rise and dominance of the condottieri, elite mercenaries who played a significant role in Italian warfare during the 14th and 15th centuries. These mercenaries, many of whom were veterans of the Hundred Years' War, were hired by wealthy rulers to fight on their behalf and were motivated by financial gain rather than glory or conquest. However, the condottieri eventually declined as they were outmatched by the gunpowder weaponry of state-sponsored militaries in France, Spain, and the Ottoman Empire.