John Hawkwood

Sir John Hawkwood (c. 1320–1394), born in Essex, became the most famous English condottiero in Italy. A longbowman in the Hundred Years' War, he joined the White Company after the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360 and entered Italy in 1361, becoming its captain two years later.

He served the pope, the Visconti of Milan and finally Florence, which made him a citizen. In 1377 he married an illegitimate daughter of Bernabò Visconti, and in 1387 won his finest victory at Castagnaro for Padua. He died in Florence in 1394 and was buried with honours in the Duomo.