ABSTRACT
Armies changed greatly during the six decades of the Italian Wars. The shift from an emphasis on largely aristocratic heavy cavalry to a substantial numerical predominance of infantry had immense implications in terms of cost and supply; the growing tendency to draw recruits from many different regions and social and cultural backgrounds also had widespread repercussions for the management of the armies. Differing methods of recruitment produced soldiers with differing incentives, preoccupations and obligations. In this chapter logistics and resources are examined against the background of the development of early standing armies and widening participation in the military life, with the focus on a comparison of the methods adopted by France and Spain, the two main protagonists, for the creation, management and resourcing of their armies.
