Navarrese Company

Medieval mercenary company The Navarrese Company (Spanish: Compañía navarra; Basque: Nafarroako konpainia) was a company of mercenaries, mostly from Navarre and Gascony that fought in Albania and Greece during the late 14th and early 15th centuries, in the twilight of Frankish power in the dwindling remnant of the Latin Empire. "Navarrese Company" is a modern informal term for the soldiers and is thus somewhat inaccurate. Origins The first Navarrese Company was formed to fight for King Charles II of Navarre against King Charles V of France. In 1366, after peace had been made, the mercenaries were organised into a coherent company of soldiers under Louis, Count of Beaumont-le-Roger in his own right and Duke of Durazzo in right of his wife, Joanna. Louis was a brother of Charles of Navarre, who supported his endeavour to recapture lost Durazzo and the regnum Albaniae. Charles V of France, likewise, aided him with 50,000 ducats. In 1372, the Navarrese ranks began to swell through the recruiting techniques of Enguerrand VII de Coucy, who was hired to form a force of 500 lances and 500 mounted archers, mostly from Gascony. Though the soldiers were recruited for service in Albania, the