Chapter 11: How the Isebrands Go to Italy to Fight for the Emperor

Reinhardt, Count of Merseburg, was a cautious man. He had to be. With three younger brothers, all of them by his father's second wife, he stood in their way. He feared his stepmother, and he feared his three half-brothers. No, that was not true, he was wary of them. None of them was allowed to serve in his troops, let alone his guard. All his guard was composed of men he trusted, men without ties to the local nobility, for his stepmother was kin to most of them.

He watched his favourite soldier, Feldweibel of the Guard Joerg Isebrand, and he envied him secretly. He had two brothers he could trust his life with, and two sisters who were fiercely loyal to their brothers. Already, Reinhardt had plans for Joerg. The Captain of the Guard, though loyal, was getting old. Plus, he had served under the old Count, and he would never raise a hand against his wife or her sons. If push came to shove, he would be neutral at best.

Isebrand would be a good replacement. The Count had long found out that the tall man's loyalty was unwavering as long as he felt that loyalty was returned. Of course, he knew about his past, about his rampage through Warnesund, but the man had never failed in his duty since he joined the Count's guard, and Reinhardt figured that the merchants of Warnesund had had it coming to them.

Forcing himself out of his reverie, the Count returned his attention to the emissary of the Emperor. It was a mad idea put before him. The emperor was quarrelling with the French king over the Lombardy province of Northern Italy. Therefore, the emperor tried to raise an army, and the imperial emissary tried to convince the Count to help out with troops. The issue was compounded by the fact that Pope Clement had decided to meddle and had taken the side of King Francis of France and the Venetians. Thus, Charles V. could not rely on troops from his own, Catholic lands. Rather, he sought to assemble an army of mercenaries from the protestant dominions of Germany.

"Worthy Abbot," Count Reinhardt started, for the emperor's emissary was the prior of a monastery in Ghent, "you mean to tell me that His Highness wishes to lead an army of Protestant soldiers against France and the Holy Father?"

"Not against the Holy Father, I assure you! Against the League of Cognac, which to join, his worldly advisers erroneously convinced the Holy Father. Never would His Imperial Majesty rise in arms against His Holiness!"

"And who is to command?"

"None other than Georg of Frundsberg, your Grace. I may add that His Majesty offers compensation for your inconvenience."

Count Reinhardt leaned back. Now the abbot was talking business, and an idea formed in the Count's head. There would be resistance in his dominions if he picked a stranger as Captain of the Guard, and this might just erode his own position. But if that stranger came home from a victorious campaign, things would look different.

"Let us say I can spare two fähnlein, how much compensation are we speaking of?"

"His Majesty offers ten Thaler for every fighting man, and he will afford the men's pay."

Two fähnlein would bring him over eight thousand Thaler, a princely sum.

"And His Majesty could find a husband for your stepmother."

"Pray tell, revered father!"

Suddenly, Reinhardt was very interested.

"The Count of Meghem, in Brabant, desires a wife, and he would be content with a modest dowry, say that castle you have, on the River Rhine?"

"He would, would he? But of course, my dear stepmother would be most unhappy, living without her sons."

"The count has no sons, and seeing that he is over sixty, he may never sire any. He should be most happy if his future wife brought three strong sons into the marriage."

"But then again, revered father, that castle on the River Rhine has been most profitable to me. It came to my father with his first wife, my mother, and I hold her memory dear."

"Our Lord charges us to love our parents. But perhaps your Grace may want to consider a favourable marriage yourself?"

"Yes, I do, revered father, but I have not found one that would appeal to me."

"It is most interesting that you say that, your Grace. I happen to know that the Count of Landshut has but one daughter, and he is anxious to find a suitable husband for her."

"He does?"

"Oh yes, your Grace. Perhaps, if it suits your Grace, I could arrange for a contact?"

The Count and the wily priest haggled for a little while longer, but in the end, they agreed on the terms. The Emperor Charles would arrange for the marriage and pay the promised premium for the soldiers, while taking the Count's stepmother off his hands. When the abbot had gone, Reinhardt motioned for his feldweibel to come over. Bowing shortly to his master, Joerg stood before the dais.

"My dear Joerg. I have good news for us. The Emperor has asked me for soldiers to fight the French and the Pope in Italy, and I have agreed to provide two fähnlein. Captain Brunner will command the first and lead the march. He is quite old as you know well, and he may not return. I shall have you lead the pikemen, as his lieu tenant. That way, when you return in honour as Captain of that fähnlein, nobody can say a word when I shall make you Grumm's successor."

"But, your Grace, who will look after your safety while I fight in Italy?"

"Have no worries, my trusted friend. My revered stepmother has been promised to the Count of Meghem, and my brothers will accompany her." He grinned openly, and Joerg smiled in return. "That is one less worry for me, and once they are gone, Captain Grumm can be trusted."

"Who shall I take to serve the Emperor?"

"Take along your siblings. You can rely on them. Your oldest brother will be made feldweibel, and your brother Thorben can be purser. Your older sister can even lead the archers. I'm always amazed at her skills with the crossbow. Your kid sister may serve as your messenger, she rides well."

"They will not disappoint you! When shall we have to leave, your Grace?"

"You will join with the Bohemian troops in Prague. Try to be there next month. Frundsberg will decide on the route to Italy. He certainly knows the way."

The Count chuckled, saying this. Frundsberg knew every way in Europe, having fought for over thirty years and under three emperors.

"I need to tell the Captains. Have them alerted, please."

Joerg retreated and and sent messengers to the Captains Brunner and Lothar. The first fähnlein was comprised of free soldiers, mercenaries really, while the second was manned by Saxons from the Count's own lands.

The worthy Captains showed conflicting emotions when told of the task they had to fulfil. Captain Brunner was close to fifty, and he doubted that his body would sustain him through the arduous campaign. However, he saw it as his duty, and he saw the honour bestowed on him. He wanted to get something off his chest, though.

"Your Grace, I thank you for your trust and I will cheerfully lead our men in support of our Emperor. But we both know that I am an old man; I may not make it through this campaign. We need to select a second in command I can trust and who will follow after me should I succumb to the exertions."

"Bravely spoken, my old friend," the Count answered. "Fear not, for I have found the right man. You know that I trust my feldweibel Joerg Isebrand above all others. I have great expectations for his future in my service. Would you be content with him serving as your lieu tenant, with you teaching him?"

"There is no doubt about his loyalty nor his bravery, your Grace. I can see him as my successor."

"Nay, my trusted friend! I need your continued service. Speak not of succession," the Count exclaimed, and a flattered smile creased the face of the old captain.

"I have served your father and your grandfather, your Grace. I shall go on this last campaign, and I fervently hope to add honour to your house. With your Grace's permission, I shall groom young Joerg to follow me."

The next days brought bustling activity to the Count's household. His stepmother was informed of her good fortune, that is, that she would be married again with the blessing of the emperor himself, and that her sons would be heirs to her new husband. They would leave for Ghent in the next days in the train of the abbot. The Countess was less than enthusiastic at first, but she relented under the prospect of winning a county for her eldest son.

In the meantime, Joerg and his siblings prepared for the campaign. Since Joerg had been made lieu tenant, Bjoern was serving as feldweibel. Thorben was purser, and in charge of the supply train, six wagons drawn by sturdy horses. Gudrun believed she was with child, yet she insisted on accompanying them. She would ride the lead wagon, and Jon would steer it.

Captain Brunner was happy to accept Katherine as leader of the archers. She met with some derision at the outset, but her mastery of the crossbow, her imposing, tall figure, and the fear most men held of her younger brother soon helped her to assert herself.

Nele had no fixed task. Joerg had her ride at his side, as his messenger, but he rarely sent her anywhere. Ever since she had killed the two soldiers, the Isebrand brothers never let Nele go anywhere by herself. Nele knew it was out of true concern and care for her, and for the time being, she abided by the rules.

After almost one month of preparations, the two fähnlein left Merseburg. From the outset, Captain Brunner kept Joerg at his side, discussing each and every move they made. After a week of travel - they were nearing Prague - he confided to Joerg that he suffered from a malignant growth. He was hopeful that he would still complete the task his liege had charged him with, but he wanted to groom his successor anyway. By association, Nele was included in the teachings, since she always rode at Joerg's side.

When they reached Prague, they were given quarters in a large field camp. The supplies were scarce, Thorben found out, as the Emperor had found it difficult to borrow enough money from the Fuggers of Augsburg, the premier lenders of money in those times. Nevertheless, after two weeks, the assembled troops left Prague, under the leadership of the famed Georg of Frundsberg.

That worthy field captain led his troops towards Regensburg and the Danube. They followed that river for two hundred miles and reached Vienna, the capitol of the Austrian heartland of the Habsburg dynasty. Here, they rested for a fortnight while Frundsberg assembled his army of 15,000. It was getting late in the year and Frundsberg was pressed to move before the snowfall in the Alps would block their crossing.

The Isebrands were well off, and they could afford to buy extra provisions, waterproof boots, and fur coats. The mass of the landsknechte, however, suffered badly during the crossing. It was lucky that the snows were late that year. They managed to cross into the Tessin valley around Christmas 1524. In the warmer climate, they camped out and waited for the entire army to arrive.

The crossing of the Alps had been too much for Captain Brunner. He developed a severe cold, just after their arrival in Tessin, and his fever rose alarmingly. He became delirious on January 4 and died a day later. As laid down in the orders by Count Reinhardt, Joerg succeeded him, and the joint command of the Saxon troops came to Captain Lothar, of the second fähnlein.

They were badly needed in the Lombardy. The imperial commander-in-chief, Charles de Lannoy, was outnumbered by the French, two to one. His sole base of operations, Pavia, had been under siege since early fall. However, the defenders, under Antonio de Leyva, had braved several assaults by the French, and Francis, King of France, had felt the need to dispatch some troops to other war theatres. In addition, five thousand Swiss soldiers from Graubuenden had left the French forces, heading home to defend their canton against marauding landsknechte. Charles de Lannoy rightly thought it time to turn the tides of the war when Frundsberg with his landsknechte arrived at Pavia in mid-January.