Rethinking the Lucchese Army During the Italian Wars, 1494–1559

Abstract

The article reconsiders the Lucchese Army during the Italian Wars (1494–1559) to demonstrate that it was not archaic and weak, as asserted by scholars, fitting well with the conflicts faced by the Republic of Lucca. Moreover, based on militiamen, the Lucchese Army represented an alternative to standing mercenary forces for a third-rank state. The European states adopted new firearms, the trace italienne, the pike-and-shot units, and reorganised their armies by hiring foreign professional soldiers in permanent service. The case study of Lucca is relevant for three reasons. First, despite its being a third-rank state, the Lucchese Army was updated according to 16th-century military innovations. Second, the Republic recruited soldiers mostly from among its subjects. Third, in the period of the Italian Wars, the Lucchese government created an army which would be unchanged up to the end of the oligarchic republic in 1799.