Early modern warfare was conducted by a dynamic breed of military men. Many were educated nobles who regularly crossed back and forth between the battlefield and the court. Their military service provided them with skills that they leveraged into other spheres of life. It also connected them to multiple centers of power and allowed them to build influential transregional networks in which they served as agents of cultural, political, and social exchange. Largely the focus of military studies, these men were engaged in a wide range of activities and interests, and some became important figures in the European-wide Republic of Letters. Embracing an interdisciplinary approach, this session seeks to reevaluate the figure of the mercenary commander by exploring the multi-faceted lives and contributions of these soldiers beyond the battlefield. Areas of investigation include, but are not limited to: cross-cultural influences, intellectual pursuits, courtly ambitions, diplomacy, regional and transregional exchange, and patronage of the arts.

To propose a 20-minute paper, kindly send your name, email, affiliation, paper title, abstract (150-word maximum), one-page cv and a list of keywords to

Rebecca Norris at rn290@cam.ac.uk and Suzanne Sutherland Duchacek srsuther@stanford.edu.