Hello everyone and welcome to the history of England,

though this is a bit of a weird one. Let me briefly explain. I am about to launch a new biography

series for members about the 14th century mercenary John Hawkewood who made a famous name for himself in 14th century Italy.

So I contacted Mike Karate of the history of Italy podcast and asked him to do a sort of introduction to Italy at the start of the period

when Hawkewood did his thing and I thought everyone might also be interested so it's available to non-members as well for a while.

Now here is Mike to give you an early guide. Mike, hello.

Hello everyone and hello David and thank you so much for the invitation. This is always a pleasure and I might add an honour.

So as you said my name is Mike Karate. I am the host and producer of the history of Italy podcast inspired by the great

history of England podcast. Oh stop it Mike. And yeah it's your fault. No you can keep going as fine and mean it.

And so it is basically a chronological history from the fall of the Western Roman Empire which I've put at 476

according to let's say the mainstream date there is some debate about it all the way up to the present day if and when I forget

there and we are actually around the 14th century at the moment which is really lucky because that's what we're going to be talking about today.

It is indeed and actually you did a very nice guest episode for which people really liked actually.

Good good. I'm glad to meet him and bagpipe which is great. Yeah yeah more recent there.

Very good so as Mike says the reason why he's here is because at the moment for members we are just about to launch into one of

my extended biographies on John Hawkewood. So Mike what I do for members amongst other things including drinking and all the

other sort of thing in history is some extended biographies so we've done Eleanor of Aquitaine and Margaret Boffat.

We have William Marshall and since I'm going sort of girl boy girl boy like a dinner party type thing.

Excellent we've come to the prom cocktail in the form of John Hawkewood 14th century condottieri a word which you would say with much more

elegance than me. Yes it's a condotiero singular. Yeah I love that so clever.

The thing is Mike and the reason why here is that I'm starting to do Hawkewood because I bought a book in 2004

never read it and it's been looking at me since then in an accusatory sort of way because I do guilt and it was on John Hawkewood.

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