CITIZENS, SOLDIERS AND CIVIC MILITIAS IN LATE MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN EUROPE.

The article explores the history of civic militias and citizen-soldiers and their role in the development of republicanism and European government in the Middle Ages. Emphasis is given to topics such as mercenaries in the political philosophy of author Niccolò Machiavelli, the drawbacks to standing armies as described by Scottish author Andrew Fletcher, and compulsory military service.