Bruger:Altaïr/Sandkasse 2
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Condottieri (eller condottiero og condottiere) var de professionelle lejesoldaters ledere eller krigsherrer i de militære fri-kompanier, hyret gennem tiden af italenske bystater og pavedømmet,[1] fra den sene middelalder, til igennem Renaissancen. In Renaissance Italian, condottiero meant "contractor", and was synonymous with the modern English title Mercenary Captain, which, historiographically, does not connote the hired soldier’s nationality.[bør uddybes] In contemporary Italian, "condottiero" acquired the broader meaning of "military leader" (e.g., not restricted to mercenaries).
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Farinata.jpg/640px-Farinata.jpg)
These Italian words were standard usage in English writing of the Napoleonic times that remained current in written histories until the late 20th century; because formally-employed, standing, professional armies were uncommon until late in the Napoleonic Wars (1800–1815) thus, the word Condottiere in the English language has come to denote, in the modern sense, any hired soldier.