In June 793, an Anglo-Saxon priest wrote mournfully that “heathen men came and miserably destroyed God’s church on Lindisfarne, with plunder and slaughter.” The Viking raids had begun. But while many of the wild Scandinavian raiders remain well known, some of the most feared and powerful figures of the age have been all but forgotten.

10Hastein

The Viking chief Hastein had a long and bloody career raiding England and France. But in his day, he was most notorious for his expedition to the Mediterranean in AD 859. After raiding Algeria, the Vikings found an island to wait out the winter. To their astonishment, the Mediterranean remained warm all through the winter months.

Hastein was also surprised to learn he was near Rome. The headquarters of the Church would surely be a glittering prize, and Hastein resolved to plunder it. Sailing down the west coast of Italy, the Vikings came across the greatest town they had ever seen. It was surely Rome.

Hastein knew the walls were too mighty for him to take the city by force. Instead, he pulled ashore and had his men explain that their dying leader wanted a Christian burial. The Italians were touched and agreed to allow Hastein carried through the gates. Of course, the chieftain soon sprang from his coffin and sacked the city.

He sailed away loaded with loot. and it was apparently some time before he learned that he had mistaken a town called Luna for the great city of Rome.

9Sigurd The Stout

Sigurd the Stout was the Norse ruler of Orkney, a large island on the north coast of Scotland. He extended the power of Orkney over the Hebrides islands and large areas of mainland Scotland.

He was well known for his use of a raven banner, a mysterious pagan totem flown by several Viking raiders. The sagas say that Sigurd’s raven banner was made by his mother (a powerful shaman) and made him invincible in battle.

However, Sigurd was overwhelmed by the Norse king Olaf Tryggvason, who forced him to convert to Christianity and took his son back to Norway as a hostage. The son died, and Sigurd was able to renounce his conversion. He took his raven banner with him to the Battle of Clontarf, where he was killed by the forces of the Irish king Brian Boru.

8The Donkey-Rider

The Persian philosopher Abu Miskawayh and the Kurdish chronicler Ali ibn al-Athir both recorded a raid on the distant Caspian Sea in AD 943. According to Miskawayh, a powerful Viking Rus fleet ported overland to the Caspian and then rowed up the Kura River to attack the rich city of Barda’a. The leader of the expedition rode a donkey, but the Muslim writers apparently didn’t know his name.

After crushing a force of 5,000, the Vikings looted Barda’a and slaughtered many of the citizens after being pelted with stones. The Persian governor of the region brought up reinforcements and placed the city under siege, but his men were intimidated by the invaders and the Vikings were only forced to retreat after an epidemic of dysentery thinned their ranks.

The donkey-riding chief died in a breakout attempt, but his surviving men were able to slip away at night and made it to the safety of their ships. The locals at once dug up the graves they left behind to retrieve the valuable swords buried with the dead warriors.

7Ingvar The Far-Traveled

The Vikings returned to the Caspian in the 1040s, when the warrior Ingvar the Far-Traveled led an expedition south from Sweden. After spending a few years with the Rus, Ingvar headed off again in search of plunder.

Georgian chroniclers mention a group of Vikings who helped King Bagrat IV of Georgia in a war against some rebels. These are generally assumed to be Ingvar’s men, especially since the landscape in a saga about him matches up well with the Georgian terrain.

After that, Ingvar is believed to have headed further east, into Muslim lands around the Caspian sea. The sagas and various runestones agree that his entire expedition died of disease there, a rather underwhelming end for such a powerful warrior.

6Brodir Of Man

After Brian Boru became High king of Ireland in AD 1002, Viking power in the Emerald Island was seriously under threat. The Norse king of Dublin, Sigtrygg Silkbeard, decided to back a rebellion against Brian. He was encouraged by his mother Gormflaith, who was Brian’s estranged wife.

At Gornflaith’s urging, Sigtrygg recruited warriors from all over the Viking world, including Sigurd the Stout. He also sent word to the Isle of Man, which was ruled by two brothers named Brodir and Ospak, who were reputedly powerful sorcerers. Brodir agreed to fight, but Ospak thought that they would lose and he ducked out under cover of darkness to join Brian.

At the Battle of Clontarf, Brodir was said to have cut down dozens of Irishmen. But Clontarf was a bloodbath and Brodir sensibly ran away into the woods when the opportunity presented itself. According to Njal’s Saga, he accidentally ran into the elderly King Brian, who was waiting to hear the outcome of the battle. Overwhelming Brian’s guards, Brodir personally killed the king.

The Saga later relates that Brian’s brother Wulf the Quarrelsome later tracked Brodir down, nailed his intestines to a tree, and forced him to walk around it until they were all pulled out.

5Raud The Strong

According to the 12th-century Icelandic poet-historian Snorri Sturluson, Raud ran afoul of King Olaf Tryggvason, who was trying to convert Norway to Christianity. Raud refused to convert and openly mocked the Christians.

This infuriated Olaf, who had Raud seized. When the stubborn pagan still refused to be baptized, Olaf had him tied down and rammed a drinking horn down his throat. Then he pushed a snake into the horn and poked it with a hot iron until it crawled down Raud’s throat and into his stomach.

According to Snorri, Raud died when the snake chewed its way out through his side. Since snakes can’t really chew, the story may be worth taking with a grain of salt.

4Ivar The Boneless

According to Ragnar’s Saga, Ivar the Boneless was the son of the legendary warrior Ragnar Lodbrok, pictured above. That may or may not be true (the same saga has Ivar fighting a magical cow), but we do know that Ivar and his brothers commanded the Great Heathen Army, a mighty force that invaded England in 865.

They overran the kingdoms of Northumbria and East Anglia and did serious damage to the kingdom of Mercia. King Aelle of Northumbria was tortured to death, while Edmund of East Anglia was shot full of arrows in a church. After that, Ivar returned to York and disappears from the record, leaving command of the army to his brothers.

Ivar’s nickname has been the subject of much speculation. The sagas agree that he had to be carried around on a shield, and Ragnar’s Saga claims that he had “only the like of gristle where his bones should have been.” This has led some historians to suggest that he suffered from osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition that leaves bones fragile and easily broken.

3Imar

Before Ivar the Boneless appeared in English records, a Viking leader called Imar was active in Ireland, where he took control of Dublin and fought in numerous raids and small wars. After Ivar left England, Imar reappeared in Scotland, where he besieged the great stronghold at Dumbarton Rock.

The siege lasted four months, but the Vikings were eventually able to cut off the water supply, and the fortress surrendered. The king of Strathclyde was taken prisoner and, it took 200 ships to carry away the loot. Imar then returned to Ireland, where he died of a “hideous disease” in 873.

Most historians speculate that Imar and Ivar are the same person, although the Scotch-Irish records never make reference to the “boneless” nickname.

2Gunderedo

The earliest Viking raid on Spain sacked the Muslim city of Seville in 844. Subsequent attacks on Muslim Spain went poorly, and the largest Viking campaign in Spain focused on the Christian north.

The raid started when Richard of Normandy called in Danish assistance for a campaign in northern France. Once that wrapped up, the Danes raided Galicia, in the northwest corner of Spain. They were led by a “sea-king” the Spanish called Gunderedo.

Gunderedo’s men pillaged the great shrine of Santiago de Compostela and killed the bishop in battle. After that, no Galician was willing to challenge the Danes and they ran riot across the countryside for three years. Its not clear why they eventually left, but probably Galicia was too poor to hold their attention for longer.

1Thorstein The Red

Thorstein the Red was the son of King Olaf of Dublin and his famous queen, Aud the Deep-Minded. Aud’s family ruled the Hebrides, and Olaf had married her in the hope of gaining an alliance. But the islanders continued to raid around Dublin, and Olaf eventually sent Aud and the infant Thorstein home in fury.

Olaf’s power grew, and he took control of the Hebrides, forcing Aud to flee to Scotland with her son. Thorstein grew up into a fierce warrior, who raided across Scotland and “was ever victorious.” The desperate Scots even granted him an independent kingdom in the northern tip of Scotland.

But Thorstein wanted more, and the Scots conspired to have him murdered in AD 900. Heartbroken, Aud took her followers to Iceland, where she became the ruler of a powerful clan. She was buried on the beach, so that the tide would always wash over her grave.

In ancient times, the term barbarian referred to any group or tribe that wasn’t part of the great European civilizations, namely the Greeks and Romans. Later, unchristianized people generally fell into this category. When we think about barbarians that terrorized Europe throughout the ages, the Huns, Mongols, and Vikings almost always come to mind. 

Either by sea or by land, “civilized” Europe seemed, at times, unable to get a reprieve from these incessant marauders. Here’s a list of 10 other such barbarian tribes that terrorized Europeans throughout history…

10. The Chatti

As the Romans were steadily expanding out of the Italian Peninsula, they came in contact with many other barbarians they had not previously encountered. Among the fiercest of these tribes were the Germanic peoples. It was not until Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars during the 1st century BC that the Romans made a clear distinction between them and the Celts. Fast forward roughly 100 years and the Chatti, a Germanic tribe, were among Rome’s most powerful enemies of the 1st century AD. 

In his literary work entitled Germania, the famous Roman historian and politician Tacitus provides some truly insightful glimpses into just how menacing the Chatti truly were. He describes the people as having “hardy bodies, well-knit limbs, fierce countenances, and unusual mental vigor.” 

He goes on to talk about a certain custom of the Chatti; a sort of ferocious initiation ritual. “As soon as they reach manhood they let their hair and beard grow as they will. This fashion of covering the face is assumed in accordance with a vow pledging them to the service of Valour; and only when they have slain an enemy do they lay it aside. Standing over the bloody corpse they have despoiled, they reveal their faces to the world once more… The coward who will not fight must stay unshorn.” 

Tacitus also describes the older Chatti warriors as always being the first to start the battle and making up the first ranks of their military formations. Even in peacetime, these veterans maintained a ferocious look on their faces and would fight “until old age leaves them without enough blood in their veins for such stern heroism.” It’s believed that around the 3rd century AD, the Chatti became part of the coalition of the Franks.

9. The Harii

Located further to the East in what is now Czechia, Slovakia, Southern Poland, and Western Ukraine, the Harii were further away from civilized Europe and were, therefore, less documented. And while there’s some confusion around who the Harii people were, we have gotten some detailed descriptions about how they waged war. Unlike the Chatti, whose prowess in battle came from their stern heroism, the Harii relied on camouflage and psychological warfare. 

Tacitus says that “they [the Harii] black their shields and dye their bodies, and choose pitch dark nights for their battles. The shadowy, awe-inspiring appearance of such a ghoulish army inspires mortal panic; for no enemy can endure a sight so strange and hellish. Defeat in battle starts always with the eyes.” 

As to their identity, some scholars believe the Harii to be a somewhat small Germanic tribe part of the Lugii federation, which itself was part of the larger Suevi confederation of tribes. Others believe the Harii to be Continental Celts predating the Germanic migration to the area. 

Some scholars believe the Harii were not even a tribe, to begin with, but a specialized army of young warriors that worshiped Woden (Odin). They were inspired to replicate the Einherjar (those who fight alone), mythical ghost warriors who’ve entered Valhalla and were personally chosen by Odin to fight the last battle of the world, known as Ragnarok.

8. The Picts (Caledonians)

Known to the Romans as Caledonians, the Picts were a people of Celtic or even older origin. Initially used as a pejorative by the Romans, the name Pict literally translates to “painted one.” This was based on their custom of either painting or tattooing their bodies. Yet, by the 7th century AD, the Picts began self-identifying as such. They lived in present-day northeastern Scotland and came in direct contact with the Romans after their invasion of the island. 

Around the year 80 AD, roughly 40 years after the initial Roman invasion of Britain, Roman governor and general, Julius Agricola, started the invasion of Scotland. Although they won the Battle of Mons Graupius against the Picts, the Romans didn’t follow up and retreated instead. Modern scholars speculate that the battle didn’t go exactly as was recorded by the Romans, which is further corroborated by the fact that they made very few other attempts at conquering Pictish lands. They, instead, switched to a containment strategy by building Hadrian’s Wall in 122 AD, and the Antonine Wall further north in 142 AD. 

According to the Roman soldier and historian, Ammianus Marcellinus of the 4th century AD, the Picts were “roving at large and causing much devastation.” Their go-to military tactics were primarily hit-and-run. They feigned retreat as soon as a battle started and while the Romans were setting up camp later in the day, the Picts would pour out of the woods and attack them. They would also lure the Roman cavalry into traps by following similar tactics.

7. The Vandals

The Vandals were another Germanic tribe originally from present-day southern Poland, which began migrating West with the arrival of the Huns at the start of the 5th century AD. They invaded Gaul and moved into the Iberian Peninsula, settling there in 409 AD. By 429, however, they were driven out by the Visigoths, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar into Northern Africa. In 435, they became clients of Rome but only a few years later, they would break that treaty, capturing Carthage and establishing their own autocratic kingdom.

Over the coming years, they conquered the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, Mallorca, and Ibiza; effectively taking control of the majority of Rome’s grain supply. Their pirate fleets now also had firm control over the Western Mediterranean. In fact, the Old English word for the Mediterranean was Wendelsæ (Sea of the Vandals).

In 455, they also invaded Italy and captured the city of Rome, plundering it for all its riches. Although it’s well-known that they didn’t destroy any buildings or kill the city’s inhabitants, this act was later used by the French abbot Henri Grégoire de Blois during the French Revolution of the 18th century to come up with the word “vandalism.” In 533, the Byzantines invaded their lands and in a single campaign defeated the Vandal kingdom, ending their reign.

6. The Avars

While the Huns were among the first and fiercest nomadic tribes to have originated somewhere in Central Asia and wreaked havoc on the European continent, they were certainly not the last. Not even a century after the Hunnic Empire disintegrated in the second half of the 5th century AD, another group of warmongering horse lords from the East took their place. These were the Avars and although not as notorious as their predecessors, they would carry on a similar legacy of war and destruction. It was the Avars who introduced the iron stirrup into Europe as well as the main cause for the southward migration of the Serbs and Croats. 

Their first appearance in Europe was during Emperor Justinian I’s rule of the Byzantine Empire (527 to 565 AD) who hired them as mercenaries against other troublesome tribes. After Justinian’s death, the Avars began looking for a place to settle and they found it in the Pannonian Plain (present-day Hungary); exactly where the Huns centered their empire previously. Under the leadership of Bayan I, the Avars expelled the Gepids from the area and began expanding their newly found Khaganate in all directions. Some sources say that Bayan killed the Gepid King, Cunimund, and even turned his skull into a wine cup.   

Over the following two centuries, the Avars would conduct many raids against their neighbors, displacing or subjugating tribes to use as “cannon fodder” in their wars or extort those they couldn’t defeat outright. Their main focus of attack was the Balkan Peninsula, deep inside the Byzantine Empire, even laying siege to Constantinople in 626 AD. Their end came with Charlemagne of the Franks. He was able to defeat them once and for all, conquer their capital known simply as “The Ring,” and take their huge treasure hoard back to Paris. By 796 AD, the Avar Khaganate was no more.

5. The Drevlians

The Drevlians – roughly translated to forest dwellers – were an East Slavic people living in present-day Ukraine and Belarus, northwest of Kiev, during the 6th and 10th centuries AD. One thing that seems to have set them apart from most of their neighbors is that, together with the Polyanians (field dwellers), they were the only tribes to have a monarchical rule. Moreover, the Drevlians seem to have “thought in common with their prince,” which hints towards some direct democracy. But this is not what appalled Christian Europe about the Drevlians, nor was it their prowess in battle. It was actually their pagan customs surrounding marriage. 

If the Medieval Slavic ecclesiastical writers had only praise for the Polyanians, saying, among other things, that they were respectful towards their wives, parents, siblings, and parents-in-law, the Drevlians were the complete opposite. In The Rus’ Primary Chronicle from the early 12th century, the Drevlians are said to have “existed in bestial fashion and lived like cattle. They killed one another, ate every impure thing, and there was no marriage among them, but instead, they seized upon maidens by capture.”

They would meet a brutal end, however, at the hands of Olga of Kiev. After they assassinated her husband, Grand Prince Igor of the Kievan Rus, Olga wanted vengeance. She started by burying the Drevlian ambassadors alive and luring the Drevlian nobles into her bathhouse which was burnt down with them still inside. She then organized a feast in the Drevlian capital of Iskorosten to commemorate her husband, but after everyone got drunk, Olga ordered the people massacred, set the city ablaze, and enslaved the survivors.

4. The Pechenegs

The Pechenegs were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that terrorized much of Eastern and Southeastern Europe throughout the 8th and 12th centuries. During the 9th century, the Pechenegs occupied a large territory between the Ural and Volga Rivers, constantly fighting with their eastern neighbors, the Khazars and the Oghuz. At the instigation of the Byzantine Empire, the Pechenegs began expanding westwards, attacking the Kievan Rus and forcing the Magyars across the Dnieper River and into the Carpathian Basin.

Throughout much of the 10th century, they would fight many battles with the Rus, even killing Prince Svyatoslav I in 972 and turning his skull into a chalice, as was apparently customary with many steppe nomads. It’s believed that during this time, many Slavic people living between the Danube and Carpathian Mountains began migrating north of the Dniester River to escape them. However, the tables would begin to turn by the end of the century, and the beginning of the 11th with the Pechenegs being systematically expelled from the Pontic Steppes, most notably by the Cumans. 

It was at that time that they began intensifying their raids into Byzantine territory across the Danube River, even laying siege to Constantinople in 1090. They were, however, defeated by Emperor Alexius I with the help of the Cumans (more on them in a bit), and again at the Battle of Beroia in 1122, effectively putting an end to the Pechenegs as an independent people.

3. The Magyars

The Magyars are believed to be a mixture of Turkic and Ugric people who lived in western Siberia during the first several centuries of the first millennium AD. They would migrate to the southwest around the 5th century and by 830 AD, they crossed the Don River, north of the Black Sea. They were comprised of seven tribes and were later joined by an additional three of Turkic Khazar descent, known as Kavars.

After the Pechenegs pushed them out of the Pontic Steppe, they moved into the Pannonian Plain in Central Europe in 895. They quickly subdued the people living there, defeated the Great Moravian state in 906, and completely obliterated the East Frankian army at the Battle of Pressburg one year later. 

For the next 60-plus years, up until 970 AD, the Magyars became the scourge of Europe. They raided and pillaged across most of the continent from present-day Denmark to Spain and Portugal, and from the Balkan and Italian Peninsulas to Western France. After that point, the Magyars became Christianized and in the year 1000 AD founded the Kingdom of Hungary. 

Even today, the Hungarians still call themselves Magyars, after the largest of the original seven tribes. The name Hungary comes from On-Ogur, which was the name given to them by their neighbors while still living in the Pontic Steppes. This name translates to “ten tribes.” The letter H was added later by some scholars who believed them to be descendants of the Huns.

2. The Cumans

From the 11th to the mid-13th century, Eastern Europe between the Volga and Lower Danube rivers was dominated by three peoples. These were the Kievan Rus to the North, the Volga Bulgars to the East, and the Cumans to the South. They were a semi-nomadic Turkic group of people who were never politically centralized and lived in a confederation of loosely connected but independent tribes. Nevertheless, they posed a significant military threat to all their neighbors, with their lands extending from the banks of the Danube River in the West all the way to present-day Kazakhstan in the East. 

The Cumans first came in contact with the Kievan Rus in 1055 and a few years later began invading their lands, causing much devastation. The resulting war lasted a total of 175 years. They would go on and attack all of their neighbors, including the Kingdom of Hungary, the Volga Bulgars, the Kingdom of Poland, the Byzantine Empire, and all statal entities within the Balkans. 

They also played the role of kingmakers, helping the Bulgars and Vlachs gain independence from the Byzantines to form the Second Bulgarian Empire. They also aided the Kingdom of Georgia to halt the advance of the Seljuks and become the most powerful kingdom in the region. 

Their end came in the late 1230s and early 1240s with the Mongol invasions. Although the Cumans put up fierce resistance, they were eventually defeated. Their confederation was broken, and the individual tribes were either absorbed or sought refuge with their neighbors. Many Cumans had already settled in their neighbors’ lands in previous decades, most notably in Hungary, where they became integrated into each nation’s elite.

1. The Barbary Pirates

Named after the local Berber tribes of Northwestern Africa, the Barbary Pirates were the bane of the Mediterranean Sea from the 16th to the 19th centuries AD. Although North African piracy was far older than that, it was not until the arrival of Barbarossa, that united the small pirate states of Algeria and Tunisia under the Ottoman Empire’s protection in the 16th century. During the 17th century, the Barbary pirates also switched from galleys to sail ships, after learning their significant advantage from a Flemish renegade, Simon Danser.

Although comprised mainly of local Berbers, these pirates also recruited many Arabs and other Muslims, as well as some European Christians. Throughout the following centuries, they plundered merchant ships, raided villages, and enslaved people from the Italian coast, France, the Iberian Peninsula, England, the Netherlands, Ireland, and as far away as Iceland.

After commerce all but stopped in the Mediterranean, the United States began paying tribute to the Barbary states in 1784. This eventually led to the First Barbary War (1801–05) between the Americans and the pirate state of Tripoli, which helped stifle piracy in the region. It was not until the full-scale conquest of Algeria by France in 1830 that the Barbary pirates were fully subdued.

We tend to think of the Middle Ages as a lawless time when desperate outlaws roamed the land. While that’s not totally fair, it is true that law and order often broke down. This allowed daring rogues to run wild, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

10Seguin de Badefol

Seguin de Badefol first appears in history as a mercenary for John II of France. After John was defeated by the Black Prince at Poitiers, France, England signed a peace treaty and the mercenaries were dismissed.

Instead of disbanding, the various mercenary companies simply transitioned to banditry, raiding and pillaging across France. De Badefol led the Margot, one of the largest bands, which could field up to 2,000 men. His favorite trick was occupying a town and demanding that the citizens pay him to leave.

In 1362, France sent an army to deal with the mercenaries, but Seguin united the various bands into the “Great Company” and shattered the royal force at the Battle of Brignais. It was a stunning victory, leaving eastern France completely at the mercy of the bandits.

Seguin died four years later from eating a poisoned quince while trying to extort some cash from ruthless maniac Charles “the Bad” of Navarre.

9Geoffrey Of Mandeville

After Henry I died without a son, the throne was claimed by the Empress Matilda (who was Henry’s daughter and rightful heir) and Stephen of Blois. Law and order broke down as England plunged into a civil war known as the Anarchy.

Perhaps the most notorious outlaw of the period was Geoffrey of Mandeville, a nobleman from East Anglia. Stephen made him Earl of Essex in return for his support, but Geoffrey betrayed Stephen and defected to Matilda, who gave him virtually unlimited control of Essex. Then Geoffrey defected back to Stephen in return for power over Middlesex and Hertfordshire.

In 1143, Stephen felt powerful enough to move against Geoffrey, but he escaped into the marshes of East Anglia. With a base on the Isle of Ely, Geoffrey became an outlaw, raiding and burning his way through the fens. He was killed by an arrow during a minor skirmish in 1144.

8Robert Fitz Hubert

During the Anarchy, Stephen shored up his position by hiring sellswords from Flanders, who soon developed an evil reputation. Arguably the worst was the practically feral Robert fitz Hubert.

Robert arrived in England in 1139. But instead of taking service with Stephen, Robert immediately attacked Malmesbury Castle and took it for himself. Stephen forced him out a few weeks later, at which point Robert hired his band out to Matilda.

He lasted a few months before sneaking away from Matilda’s army and taking Devizes Castle in a surprise night attack. He summoned more knights from Flanders and began to ravage the land in a determined effort to carve out a petty kingdom between Winchester and London.

This wild plan was only foiled by the cunning of John the Marshal, who offered to surrender his castle and then slammed the gate shut behind Robert when he arrived to negotiate. Robert was subsequently hanged.

7Eustace The Monk

At the height of his career, Eustace the Monk was so feared that he was rumored to be a sorcerer. A former monk, he was declared an outlaw and fled to the English Channel, where he became the most notorious pirate of his day.

Eustace was a formidable sea captain, and King John of England hired his powerful fleet to capture the Channel Islands from the French. Eustace subsequently used the island of Sark as a base to ravage the Norman coast and stage daring raids down the Seine.

In 1212, Eustace defected to the French. His pirates were sailing with a large French fleet when they came under attack from an English armada in 1217. The English triumphed by throwing quicklime onto the enemy ships, blinding the crew. Eustace was found hiding in the bilge and beheaded as “a traitor to the king and a most wicked pirate.”

6Owain Red Hand

Owain Lawgoch (“Red Hand”) was the last male-line descendant of the old Welsh kings of Gwynedd and one of the finest warriors of the 14th century. He was determined to regain his rightful throne and even launched two invasions, causing panic in England. However, his first fleet was prevented from landing by storms, while the second force was diverted to aid the king of France.

When not invading Wales, Owain fought for the French in the Hundred Years War and commanded a company of Welsh mercenaries against Pedro the Cruel of Castile. In 1375, Owain led the Guglers, a massive army of mercenaries that invaded Switzerland, only to be ambushed in a night attack by the enraged Swiss citizens.

Owain was assassinated in 1378 by an undercover agent of the English.

5Roger de Flor

Originally a member of the Knights Templar, Roger de Flor was drummed out of the order after his disgraceful conduct at the Siege of Acre, where he took control of a Templar galley and charged huge fees to carry civilians to safety in Cyprus.

After a spell as a pirate, Roger saw a chance to secure his fortunes. The king of Aragon had dismissed many of his soldiers after signing a peace treaty in 1302. Many of the newly unemployed Catalans had been fighting for two decades and had no other marketable skills. Roger recruited 6,000 into a mercenary band known as the Catalan Company and signed a lucrative contract with the Byzantines.

The Catalans were mildly successful against the Turks, but they also looted Byzantine land and openly fought rival Byzantine soldiers. To make matters worse, Roger was clearly plotting to carve out his own kingdom in Anatolia. Declaring him a bandit, the Byzantines murdered him in 1305.

4The Catalan Company

After the murder of Roger de Flor, the Byzantines sent an army to wipe out his mercenaries. Although the Catalans were outnumbered, they were also hardened veterans and defeated the Imperial Army at Apros in 1305.

After a fairly pathetic attempt to blockade Constantinople, the Company crossed into Greece, where the Duke of Athens realized they were a threat. Cunningly, he offered to hire the Catalans.

They conquered large territories of Greece for him until they realized that their money was never coming. Meanwhile, the duke was trying to split the Company by offering full pay and land to 500 of the Catalans if they would help him defeat the others.

The 500 Catalans declined to betray their comrades but sensibly took the bribe first. Then they pulled off another underdog victory over the duke’s larger army and established their own petty kingdom in Greece, which lasted for the next 80 years.

3Adam The Leper

In the mid-14th century, England experienced something of an urban crime wave. Even the Black Prince once sent his servants out to buy food, only for them to return beaten and robbed. The most notorious gang leader was Adam the Leper, who often targeted royal officials.

In his most famous crime, Adam learned that Queen Philippa had left her jewelry with a local merchant. The leper’s gang surrounded the merchant’s house and demanded that he hand over the gems.

The outraged merchant refused and stoutly beat off several attacks until Adam became exasperated and set the building on fire. Now the tables were turned, with the merchant and his family trying to get out and Adam keeping them in until they tossed out the jewels. The leper was apparently never punished for this daring attack.

2Momcilo

Hajduk Momcilo was a Bulgarian bandit who built a personal army of peasants in the Rhodope Mountains. He briefly served Stefan Dusan of Serbia but really came into his own during the Byzantine Civil War of 1341–1347.

In an impressive display of backstabbing, Momcilo switched sides in 1343, 1344, and 1345. By playing both sides, he was able to establish his own power in the borderlands.

Momcilo eventually became such a threat that the Byzantines teamed up with the Turks to launch a joint attack on his city of Peritheorion. Sensing which way the wind was blowing, the citizens locked Momcilo’s army outside the gates, where he was defeated and killed.

1The Archpriest

Arnaud de Cervole was Archpriest of Velines until he found that a career as a mercenary was more to his liking. (He kept “the Archpriest” as a nickname.) After the Battle of Poitiers, Arnaud was the first to realize that the French crown was no longer strong enough to hold the mercenaries in check.

He formed the first “Great Company” and led it into Provence, which had avoided serious damage in the war. Before long, the mercenaries had turned it into a wasteland. Arnaud even besieged Marseille with 3,000 men, although the city held out.

In 1358, the Archpriest ensured his infamy by essentially taking the Pope hostage, surrounding the Papal seat in Avignon, and demanding 20,000 florins to leave the region. After that, Arnaud largely went back to legitimate mercenary work and was part of the royal army defeated by Seguin de Badefol’s raiders at the Battle of Brignais.

In 1365, Arnaud was hired to lead the mercenaries in a crusade against the Turks, although the real goal was to get them out of France. He was stabbed to death months later in an argument over supplies.