ABSTRACT
In the summer of 1621, the Roman nobleman Pietro Aldobrandini received instructions from the papal court to recruit 3,000 Germans, organized into ten companies “for the assistance of His Majesty the Emperor in the wars against the rebels or other enemy heretics.” Aldobrandini’s ambition to see battlefield action was quickly thwarted by Habsburg orders to garrison his troops, while the disappearance of soldiers and lack of provisions presented an ongoing struggle. He continued to seek out ways to serve his papal patrons, turning his letters into a testament to the kind of papal servant he aspired to be. On August 3, 1621, Aldobrandini reported to Ludovisi from Znaim (Znojmo), a town overlooking the Dyje River in southwestern Moravia that housed some of his troops. He had only been there for four days and boasted of progress. The cavalry, Aldobrandini explained, “grows larger every day.”.
