Vanderbilt University Professor of History William Caferro has received the 2008 Otto Gründler Prize for his book John Hawkwood: An English Mercenary in 14th Century Italy. Western Michigan University offers this prestigious award annually for the best book or monograph on medieval studies.
Caferro’s book, published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2006, details the life of one of Italy’s most feared mercenaries in the 1300s. Hawkwood was born in England, took part in the Hundred Years’ War in France and also fought throughout Italy as an army commander. He knew many prominent people, including Geoffrey Chaucer, Francis Petrarch and Catherine of Siena.
Various city-states were rivals for his services and tried to outbid each other for Hawkwood with gifts of money, land, and, in the case of Florence, citizenship. Caferro portrays Hawkwood as an extraordinary military leader who managed to develop a reputation for honesty while gaining the upper hand with his Italian hosts, who could be manipulative and deceptive during their dealings with him.
Caferro, who received his doctorate from Yale University, researched more than 20 archives in England and Italy for the book. It is considered not only a biography of the famed warrior but also an in-depth study of the Italian military and mercenary system at that time.
The Gründler Prize was given at the 43rd International Congress on Medieval Studies on the Western Michigan campus in May. It was established in honor of the late Otto Gründler, who served for 19 years as director of the Western Michigan University Medieval Institute. The institute holds an annual gathering of medieval scholars from around the world.
More information on Caferro’s book is available at www.press.jhu.edu/books.
Media Contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, (615) 322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu