The Latecomers

The Latecomers (Fr. ‘les Tards-Venus’), a contemporary term used to describe the marauding band of men assembled after 1360, most often known as the Great Company, one of the largest and most formidable of the routier companies. According to Caferro, Froissart took the term 'Tard-Venus’ from Jean le Bel, but contemporary documents, as well as modern historians, have affirmed the correctness of the term the 'Great Company’ (Magna Societas). John Hawkwood began his mercenary career in the Great Company

Bibliographic References:

See Caferro, John Hawkwood, p. 361; Fowler, Medieval Mercenaries, pp. 2-5.

Occurrences:

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