ntry had
thrown into the background the knightly cavalry of the middle ages.

The strength of the German army consisted of Landsknechte, freemen,
either citizens or peasants, and among them occasionally a few nobles.
They were for the most part mercenaries, who bound themselves
voluntarily by contract to some banner for a time. They carried on war
like a trade, sternly, actively, and enduringly. But the full vigour of
their power was of short duration: their decadence may be dated from
their revolt against the old Fronsperg; from that hour when they broke
the heart of their father, the gray-headed Landsknecht hero. Many
things combined to corrupt this new infantry: they were mercenaries,
serving only for a time, accustomed to change their banner, and not to
fight for an idea, but only for booty or their own advantage. They were
not called into existence in consequence of the application of
gunpowder to the art of war; but they more especially appropriated this
new invention to themselves. The introduction of fire-arms into the
army, certainly first showed the weakness of their opponents, the old
cavalry of knighthood, but at the same time soon caused the diminution
of their own efficiency, for these weapons were too clumsy and slow to
insure victory on the battle-field. The final result still depended on
the rushing charge of the pikemen and the onslaught of their great
masses on the enemy.

To this was added other detrimental circumstances; there were as yet no
standing armies: when there was threatening of a feud, troops were
assembled by the territorial lords great and small, and by the cities,
and at the conclusion of the war they were dismissed. These wars were
generally short and local; even the Hungarian wars were only summer
campaigns of a few months. The German rulers, always in want of money,
endeavoured to help themselves by the depreciation of the coinage,
striking a lighter coin expressly for the payment of the soldiers, and
also by faithlessly paying them less than had been agreed upon. This
unworthy treatment demoralized the men, no less than the shortness of
the service. Thus the Landsknechte became deceived deceivers,
adventurers, plunderers and robbers.

The infantry at the beginning of the war used either firearms or pikes,
the former to open the enemy's ranks, the latter to decide the battle
by hand-to-hand fighting. At this period we find that the pikemen were
the heavy infantry; they wore breast