Latest / The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History / The Halberdier Revolt: When Swiss Mercenaries Shook Milan
Transcript
- Lucas: So, we've talked a lot about the Italian Wars—the big battles, the shifting alliances. But I want to zoom in on something that happened in Milan in 1525, just after the Battle of Pavia. It's this moment where the Swiss mercenaries, the famous Reisläufer, basically turned on their own employers inside the Castello Sforzesco. Luna: Wait—the Swiss were fighting for the French at Pavia, right? Lucas: They were, on the French side under King François I. And after the French defeat, the Swiss contingent that was garrisoned in Milan's Castello Sforzesco found themselves in a really precarious position. They hadn't been paid in months, and the city was under threat from Imperial troops. So they decided to take matters into their own hands. Luna: What did they do? Lucas: They mutinied. Locked the gates of the castle, seized control of the armory, and demanded their back pay. But here's the thing—the city of Milan was basically broke. The Sforza duke, Francesco II, had fled. The French were in disarray. So the Swiss halberdiers, these hardened pike men, were sitting in a fortress with no food, no money, and no clear loyalty. Lucas: The Imperial commander, the Duke of Bourbon—remember him from the Sack of Rome two years later?—he tried to negotiate. He offered them safe passage out if they surrendered the castle peacefully. But the Swiss leaders, a guy named Hans Müller and his lieutenants, they didn't trust him. And honestly, they had good reason not to. Luna: Because mercenaries were often double-crossed after surrender? Lucas: Exactly. There was this unwritten code among Renaissance mercenaries—if you surrendered, your life was supposed to be spared, but it didn't always work out that way. And the Swiss knew that the Imperial army had Lansquenets, German mercenaries who were their traditional rivals. So they held out. Lucas: The standoff lasted a few days. The Swiss inside the Castello started to starve. They ate the horses, then the dogs. The Imperial forces outside were content to wait. Finally, on March 25, 1525, the mutineers tried to break out. They formed up with their pikes and halberds and marched out of the gate, hoping to fight their way to Swiss territory. Luna: How did that go? Lucas: It was a disaster. The Imperial cavalry cut them down in the open fields outside the city walls. Most were killed or captured. The ringleaders were executed—some accounts say beheaded, others say hanged. The rest were forced into service or ransomed. It was a brutal end to a desperate gamble. Luna: So the Swiss reputation for being invincible took a hit? Lucas: Absolutely. Up until that point, the Swiss infantry was considered the best in Europe. But this revolt, combined with their poor performance at Pavia, started to tarnish that image. It showed that even the most disciplined mercenaries could crack when they weren't paid. And it highlighted the fundamental problem of relying on foreign soldiers—they serve the purse, not the cause. Lucas: Speaking of which, one thing I love about doing this show is that we don't have to serve any sponsors. We keep it ad-free because we want the history to speak for itself. If that kind of independence matters to you, and you'd like to help keep it going, there's a link in the show notes—it's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, but every bit helps us keep digging into these corners of history. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to support something that's genuinely ad-free. Lucas: Anyway, back to the Swiss. This revolt had long-term consequences for Swiss mercenary service. After 1525, the cantons became more cautious about who they hired out to. They demanded upfront payment, stricter contracts. And the French, who had been their biggest employer, started relying more on German Lansquenets and Italian condottieri. Luna: So the Swiss lost their monopoly on shock infantry? Lucas: Not entirely—they were still hired, but the terms changed. The revolt also exposed the internal divisions within the Swiss Confederacy. The Catholic cantons and the Protestant cantons were already at odds, and this incident showed how fragile their unity was when money was involved. Some cantons even blamed others for the mutiny, saying the men from Zurich or Bern were the instigators. Lucas: And there's a personal angle too. One of the executed leaders, Hans Müller, later became a kind of folk hero in some Swiss regions. He was seen as a man who stood up for the common soldier against corrupt captains. There are songs about him, though they're not exactly historically accurate. Luna: So he became a Robin Hood figure, but in reality he was just a desperate mercenary? Lucas: Pretty much. The revolt forced the Swiss Diet to address the issue of unpaid troops. They passed laws requiring captains to post bonds to ensure payment. But in practice, it was hard to enforce. The system was built on private enterprise—mercenary captains recruited men, and the cantons took a cut. There was always someone willing to undercut the rules. Lucas: I think what I find most striking is how this event, which is barely a footnote in most histories of the Italian Wars, really encapsulates the whole mercenary economy of the Renaissance. It's a story of money, loyalty, and survival, all playing out in the shadow of a fortress that still stands in Milan today. Luna: You can visit the Castello Sforzesco and imagine those starving Swiss pikes holed up inside. Lucas: Exactly. And next time you look at those old paintings of Swiss guards, you remember that behind the gleaming halberds, there were real men who sometimes just wanted their pay.