The condottieri were mercenary captains who provided their own trained soldiers. These mercenaries fought only when they were paid handsomely, fed well, and kept sloshing with wine. They also required camp hangers-on, washerwomen, and more importantly, prostitutes. Though the condottieri and their men were viewed with revulsion, they were a necessary evil if city-states wanted to maintain a healthy male population by keeping them off the field of battle.