Florentines offered a large sum of money in exchange
for a solemn promise not to damage Florence and the
other allied cities, Hawkwood persuaded the papal
representative to accept the offer.
The pope was a bad paymaster and habitually an-
swered Hawkwood’s requests with vague promises
and apostolic blessings. However, as payment for his
services Hawkwood obtained the papal territories of
Bagnacavallo, Cotignola, and Conselice in Romagna in
- In Italy, most of the cities in the papal territories
were in rebellion against tyrannical exploitation by the
papal legates, and Hawkwood was often asked to fi ght
not against other armies but against the rebels—and to
slaughter civilians, as he did in Cesena early in 1377.
Chronicles report that 4,000 people were killed at Ces-
ena. To avoid being used for the punishment of innocent
people, Hawkwood decided to abandon the service of
the pope in 1377 and joined the antipapal league, where
he found his earlier enemies Barnabò Visconti and the
Florentines.
Hawkwood, who was apparently a widower, married
an illegitimate daughter of Barnabò, Donnina, in 1377.
He moved to Romagna in order to establish himself in
his possessions there, but soon the small dimensions of
his land and the unfriendliness of his neighbors led him
to change his mind. He decided instead to accept an offer
from the republic of Florence, thus beginning a period
of almost permanent service to the Florentine signoria.
During the following fi fteen years he fought against
the pope and then against Gian Galeazzo Visconti,
Barnabò’s nephew, who had risen to power in Milan after
ousting Barnabò. Hawkwood guided an army against
Gian Galeazzo Visconti in northern Italy, with some
success, and was able to retreat without losses when
a disagreement with the allied forces made the course
of the campaign unfavorable. Contemporary sources
regarded this retreat as a victory. When Hawkwood went
again to northern Italy to fi ght against Verona, which was
allied with the Visconti, he achieved a signifi cant victory
over the Milanese and Veronese forces at Castagnaro on
11 March 1387. In 1391, he bravely and effi caciously
defended Florentine positions in Tuscany against the
army of the Visconti, which eventually retreated.
Hawkwood received honors and consideration from
the Florentine signoria and had a palace neat Florence.
He lived at this palace until his death, which occurred
during the night of 16–17 March 1394. Solemn funerals
were provided by the signoria, and his widow received a
life pension. In 1430, the republic commissioned the fa-
mous artist Paolo Uccello to paint an equestrian portrait
of John Hawkwood in the cathedral of Florence. The
large fresco is still there, as well as the inscription, which
begins: Ioannis Acutus Eques Britannicus, Dux Aetatis
suae Cautis-simus et Rei Militaris Peritissimus.
John Hawkwood was a typical condottiere and one
of the best-known leaders of mercenary troops of his
time. He served the most important and mightiest states
of Italy—Florence, Milan, and the pope. His military
ability was universally recognized. He is said to have
introduced into Italy a strategy of the English army
that involved dismounted knights wielding long lances
and mobile archery squads with longbows. As a con-
dottiere employed by different states, he could rarely
develop autonomous strategies, but whenever possible
he avoided the risk of fi ghting for targets that could be
obtained by other means.
See also Edward IIIFurther Reading
Chalmers, Alexander. The General Biographical Dictionary.
London: J. Nichols, 1812–1817. (See “John Hawkwood.”)
Gaupp, Fritz. “The Condottiere John Hawkwood.” History, 23,
1938–1939, pp. 305–321.
Machiavelli, Niccolò. Istorie fi orentine, ed. Franco Gaeta. Milan:
Feltrinelli, 1962.
R[igg], J[ames] M[cMullen]. “Hawkwood, Sir John.” The Dic-
tionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1886–1887, Vol. 9, pp. 236–242.
Tabanelli, Mario. Giovanni Acuto, capitano di ventura. Faenza:
Stab. Grafi co Fratelli Lega, 1975.
Temple-Leader, John, and Giuseppe Marcotti. Sir John Hawk-
wood (L’Acuto): Story of a Condottiere. London: T. F. Unwin,
1889.
Winstanley, William. “The Life of Sir J. Hawkwood.” In Eng-
land’s Worthies. London: Printed for Nath. Brooke, at the Sign
of the Angel in Cornhill, 1660.
Giulio MaffiiHEINRIC (fl. ca. 1300)
This Middle Dutch poet, also known as Hein van Aken,
is mentioned as an author in a number of Middle Dutch
texts.
One, Va n den coninc Saladijn ende van Tabaryen
(Of King Saladijn and of Tabaryen), is an adaptation
of the French courtesy book l’Ordene de chevalerie
(The Chivalric Order). The text has been shortened by
over two hundred verses and its metrical form has been
altered as well. The Old French source is continuous
text in paired rhyme, but the Middle Dutch adaptation
is stanzaic, with the rhyme scheme ABABABAB. The
contents of the two are similar. Hughe van Tabaryen,
who is a prisoner of war, makes Sultan Saladijn a knight
and talks to him about the essence of knighthood. In the
fi nal line of the poem, the author’s name is revealed:
Hein van Aken. This text is the only one to mention
Heinric’s surname.
In the past, scholars have attributed other works to
this author, but their evidence is weak. The translator of
Die Rose (“The Rose”), for example, calls himself van
Brusele Henrecke (Henrecke from Brussels, 1. 9901). InHAWKWOOD, SIR JOHN