France, Spain and Italy were the scene of almost constant warfare during the second half of the fourteenth century. By that time the armies of the kings, princes and city republics were raised by contract and paid. With the cessation of hostilities between England and France in 1360, many captains maintained their retinues to serve other employers, failing which they combined together to make war on their own account.

This first volume deals with the activities, mainly in France and Spain, of a large number of the soldiers who were demobilized after the conclusion of peace, and who came together to form the 'Great Companies'. The author places their activities in the political and diplomatic framework of the times, highlighting their ambitions and those of the rulers who employed them.