# Black Bands

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{{Other uses|Black band (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Black Bands
| image= Uffizi 17, Giovanni delle Bande nere cropped.jpeg
| image_size = 180
|caption= Statue of the commander [Giovanni de' Medici](/source/Giovanni_dalle_Bande_Nere) (also known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere) at the  [Uffizi Gallery](/source/Uffizi) in [Florence](/source/Florence%2C_Italy), [Italy](/source/Italy).
|dates=1517?–1528
|allegiance=
|type=
|size=1,000–4,000
|nickname=
|motto=
|battles=[Italian Wars](/source/Italian_Wars)
|notable_commanders= [Giovanni de' Medici](/source/Giovanni_dalle_Bande_Nere)
}}
The '''Black Bands''' ({{langx|it|Bande Nere}}), sometimes referred to as the '''Black Bands of Giovanni''', was a company of [Italian](/source/Italy) [mercenaries](/source/mercenaries) formed and commanded by [Giovanni de' Medici](/source/Giovanni_dalle_Bande_Nere) during the [Italian Wars](/source/Italian_Wars); their name came from their black mourning colours for the death of [Pope Leo X](/source/Pope_Leo_X). Composed primarily of [arquebus](/source/arquebus)iers—including Europe's first mounted arquebusiers—the company was, by the [Italian War of 1521](/source/Italian_War_of_1521), considered to be the finest Italian troops available. Initially in the service of [Charles de Lannoy](/source/Charles_de_Lannoy) and the Pope, the company fought at [Bicocca](/source/Battle_of_Bicocca) in 1522 and [the Sesia](/source/Battle_of_the_Sesia) in 1523. A pay dispute led to it transferring its allegiance to [Francis I of France](/source/Francis_I_of_France); it took part in the [Battle of Pavia](/source/Battle_of_Pavia) under the command of [Richard de la Pole](/source/Richard_de_la_Pole) (d. 1525), known as the "White Rose". In addition to the Italian units, German mercenaries in service of Francis I were called the "German black bands".

At the start of the [War of the League of Cognac](/source/War_of_the_League_of_Cognac), the Bands attempted to resist the advance of [Georg Frundsberg](/source/Georg_Frundsberg)'s Imperial [landsknechts](/source/landsknechts) into [Lombardy](/source/Lombardy). Giovanni was killed by a cannonball near [Mantua](/source/Mantua) early in 1526. The company continued to fight in French and Papal pay, taking part in the expedition to [Naples](/source/Naples) under [Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec](/source/Odet_de_Foix%2C_Vicomte_de_Lautrec). It retreated from the siege with the remainder of the French army—crippled by the [plague](/source/Bubonic_plague)—and surrendered to the Imperial forces in late 1528, disbanding shortly afterwards.

== References ==
* Arfaioli, Maurizio. ''The Black Bands of Giovanni: Infantry and Diplomacy During the Italian Wars (1526–1528)''.  Pisa: Pisa University Press, Edizioni Plus, 2005. {{ISBN|88-8492-231-3}}.
* Hackett, Francis. ''Francis the First''. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1937.
* Konstam, Angus. ''Pavia 1525: The Climax of the Italian Wars''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1996. {{ISBN|1-85532-504-7}}.
* Taylor, Frederick Lewis. ''The Art of War in Italy, 1494–1529''. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1973. {{ISBN|0-8371-5025-6}}.

Category:Military units and formations of the Italian Wars
Category:Mercenary units and formations of the early modern period
Category:16th-century condottieri
Category:War of the League of Cognac

{{Mil-unit-stub}}
{{Italy-mil-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Black Bands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Bands) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Bands?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.