Summary: Publisher Summary 1 A history of fourteenth-century Italy traces the period from the end of the Hundred Years' War, through the medieval period, to the onset of the Renaissance era, citing the activities of such individuals as John Hawkwood and numerous members of the clergy and royal family, and tracing the events of the Black Plague. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.   Publisher Summary 2 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 Brokeris a riveting account of the fortunes gained and lost in a tumultuous time.