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A comment on 60 knights paused a war to fight a battle royale. Parent comment

Re:60 knights paused a war to fight a battle royale by WalterBright on Saturday September 24, 2022 @01:50AM (#32960015)
The reason for minimizing casualties was the armies consisted of paid mercenaries. Mercenaries had no interest in dying in combat, so it was maneuver to get the other side into a bad position, then they capitulate.

This all changed with conscription. Now, commanders could command vast armies of conscripts who were forced to fight, and the slaughter was/is tremendous.

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Re:60 knights paused a war to fight a battle royale by nazka on Saturday September 24, 2022 @07:32AM (#32961555)
That’s interesting. Do you know where I can find more stuff about this? And the etiquette of war back then?
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Re:60 knights paused a war to fight a battle royale by WalterBright on Saturday September 24, 2022 @04:07PM (#32966141)
The period was the middle ages in Italy with its warring city-states. I don't have a reference handy, as this was told to me by my father (who had a PhD in history).
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Re:60 knights paused a war to fight a battle royale by anigbrowl on Saturday September 24, 2022 @05:39PM (#32966752)
*A History of Warfare' by John Keegan is a readable introduction to the combined history and anthropology of warfare, with a good bibliography.
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