Medieval Italy was characterized by regular warfare among its numerous city-stat es, as well as internal strife within comunes as aristocratic factions fought ea ch other for domination of the cities' governments. In this context, Italian war fare developed quickly, with the crossbow playing a key role in improving the ar mour technology of the Italian city militias that used them. This book traces th e evolution of the Italian militiaman, providing a comprehensive view of all asp ects of the late medieval Italian city militias, from the weaponry, attitudes an d social backgrounds of their members, to the political context that made such f ormations necessary.