Black Riders | Most Sought-After Mercenaries in Europe

Black Riders – also known as German Reiters were some of the most sought-after mercenaries in early modern Europe. Throughout the 16th century, the Black Riders participated in many of the countless battles between Catholics and Protestants, where they found new ways of dealing with the widespread pike and shot formations, influenced the tactics of many European armies and slowly but steadily replaced the old medieval lancers. Their cost efficiency, tactics and armament were – and still are - subject to scholarly debate, but undeniably the Black Rider’s new ways of fighting changed the face of (western) European warfare strongly and lastingly. This video explains how contemporary historiography deals with the controversial topic of cavalry warfare in the 16th century.

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Sources:
Clifford, J. R., Tactics and the Face of Battle, in: Tallet, F., (editor), European Warfare 1350-1750.
Eltis, D., The Military Revolution in Sixteenth-Century Europe, London 1995.
Frost, R., Northern Wars, State and Society in Northeastern Europe 1558-1721, 2000.
Grbasić, Z., / V. Vuksić, L'âge d'or de la Cavalerie, 1989.
Kloosterhuis, J., “Cavalry” in: Encyclopedia For Early Modern History.
Love, R.S. «All the King’s Horsemen”: The equestrian Army of Henri IV, 1585-1598, SCJ 22 (1991), 511-33.
Meyer, H., Geschichte der Reiterkrieger, 1982.
Oeser, E., Pferd und Mensch. Die Geschichte einer Beziehung, 2007.
Parker, G., Dynastic War, in: Parker. G., (editor), The Cambridge History of Warfare, 2005.
Roberts, M., Gustav Adolf and the Art of War (first printed 1955), in: Essays on Swedish History, 1967.

Our reading list on military history:
Duffy, C., Siege Warfare: The Fortress in the Early Modern World 1494-1660, Vol. 1, 1979. https://amzn.to/32dvvwM
Rogers, C.J., The military revolution debate. Readings on the military transformation of early modern Europe, 1995. https://amzn.to/3geVDMM
Rogers, C.J., Soldiers' Lives through History - The Middle Ages, 2006. https://amzn.to/3j2kQvG
Parker, C., The Cambridge History of Warfare, 2005. https://amzn.to/32ggn1L
Van Nimwegen, O., The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions, 1588-1688, 2010. https://amzn.to/2E3Fc95