"Italian Wars Cavalry Terms?" Topic

I've seen some people list gendarmes and heavy cavalry/knights (and/or Men at Arms) separately, sometime in the same listings or postings of articles, for different factions.

I also seem to recall three different designations for Italian cavalry, gendarmes, famiglia, and condottiere. I know the condottiere are mercenaries, but what's the difference between the gendarmes and the famiglia troops?

I've seen them frequently listed in the same "army lists" for different/various Italian City State forces for the Italian Wars 1490 – 1530, or so, but it's not always clear what the distinction between the two is.

I don't understand the difference between the gendarmes and famiglia units. Perhaps one with better training and equipment, e.g. metal horse barding as opposed to fabric, or none at all, other?

I suspect famiglia refers to "family", so maybe they are household units?

I know during the period some cavalry had metal horse barding, some had either leather or fabric, and some had none at all for their gendarmes.

Then of course, we can also have some referred to as knights/men at arms, archers (sometimes with bows early on, but later with lances to support the heavier gendarme units), and then of course there are the various light horse units too, equipped with: crossbows, longbows or bows, guns, light lances/spears, medium lances, etc., too.

Any clarification to the above would be appreciated. Perhaps some are just national preference terms favored by one country or the other, when referring to their horse units.

I reckon you've got it:

The Gendarmes are the best-armed "bosses".
The Famiglia are the bosses' men-at-arms and sundry knights
The Condittieria are the hired help

I'm not sure conflating the horse barding with the above classification is appropriate.

A previous thread explored the idea of flanking horseman possessing the barding to protect the rest.

The names are functional classifications, not types of cavalry. Gendarmes is a French term. It derives from Gens d'armes or "men at arms." It includes the social categories of knights, which themselves could vary widely in rank from a king to a mere individual bestowed with the title. Also included are ecuyers or squires, who have not been knighted as well as others who despite not having a knightly title, have the money and desire to purchase an expensive suit of armor and train in it. Many of these were commoners that have learned to "live by the sword." When the chronicles use the name gens d'armes, irt usually means heavy cavalry charging with the lance and continuing to fight on horseback with swords, maces, and other close combat weapons. Famiglia is an Italian term. It literally means family. However, it is in reality an "extended family" of relatives, friends, and supporters of the ruler of an Italian city-state such as Milan, Venice, Florence, Mantua, etc. Many of them were armed, equipped, and trained in a similar way to the French gens d'armes. However, few Italian courts maintained the same standard of training and traditions of the French and they were seldom as effective. Italian armor, however, particularly that of Milanese manufacture was of the highest quality and greatly admired throughout Europe. The Condottieri (sing. Condottiero) were professional mercenaries. Soldiers for hire. During the 14th and 15th centuries many Italian cities preferred to contract with these professionals to settle their wars. Condottieri bands included all types of soldiers common in Italy including mounted men at arms, crossbowmen, handgunners, spearmen, etc. The condottieri leaders and their close associates were armed and equipped as heavy cavalry just as French gens d'armes and the Famiglie of Italian rulers. In short, all three categories may describe heavy cavalrymen, preferably armed with a full suit of armor riding a heavy war horse preferably barded or with armor plating (this was so expensive that only the richest could afford it). Again the terms do not designate different types but rather one is a French term encompassing a wide swath of social ranks who are similarly armed and the latter two are Italian designations of function--Famiglia being the retinue of a leader, and Condottieri mercenaries, some of which would fight as heavy cavalrymen. In wargaming terms, I would use similar figures for all three (with regional variations if you are picky) and assign them morale or protection values as you see fit for a scenario. Hope this helps. I have done extensive research from original sources in this period.

Thank you both for the replies and info.

I've sometimes seen all three in a single army list, hence my confusion, since I was under the impression that they were all pretty similar.

The difference in the army list is mostly on the form of contract and the expected quality you get for it.

In historical terms all of these could be called "Gens'd Arms" or just "Renaissance Knights" – though "Knight" from medieval terms imply a social status which the Gensdarmes usually lack.