num_pages: 416
description: A vibrant history of Italy in the cataclysmic fourteenth century as seen through the life of a brilliant military strategist and bandit lord At the dawn of the Renaissance, hordes of mercenaries swooped down on the opulent city-states of Italy and commenced to drain them dry. The greatest of all the bandits was Sir John Hawkwood, an English expatriate and military genius who formed his own army, cleverly pitted ancient rivals against one another, held the Pope for ransom, and set blood running in the streets. In this gripping biography of the charismatic Hawkwood, Frances Stonor Saunders illuminates the fourteenth century as a time of plague, political schism, and religious mania offset by a gargantuan appetite for spectacle and luxury. Dazzling and addictively readable, The Devil's Broker is a riveting account of the fortunes gained and lost in a tumultuous time.
language: English
title: The Devil's Broker: Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in Fourteenth- Century Italy
titlecomplete: The Devil's Broker: Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in Fourteenth- Century Italy
genres: Biography, European History, Medieval, Military Fiction, Italy, War, Nonfiction, History, Military History, France
ratings_count: 350
publisher: Harper Perennial