Jörg von Frundsberg, führt uns an,
Tra la la la la la la,
Der die Schlacht gewann,
Lerman vor Pavia.
Kaiser Franz von Frankenland,
Tra la la la la la la,
Fiel in des Frundsbergs Hand,
Lerman vor Pavia.
Alle Blümlein standen rot,
Tra la la la la la la,
Heißa, wie schneit der Tod,
Lerman vor Pavia.
Als die Nacht am Himmel stund,
Tra la la la la la la,
Trommel und Pfeif' ward kund,
Lerman vor Pavia.
Und der euch dies Liedlein sang,
Tra la la la la la la,
Ward ein Landsknecht genannt,
Lerman vor Pavia.
English translation:
It's Frundsberg who lead us, tra la la la la la la la
He won tha battle until Pavia
He won tha battle until Pavia
Francis the first king of France, tra la la la la la la la
Fell into Frundsberg's hand near Pavia
Fell into Frundsberg's hand near Pavia
All flowers were tints in red, tra la la la la la la la
Gosh, as falls the death, everything around Pavia
Gosh, as falls the death, everything around Pavia
When the night invades the sky, tra la la la la la la la
Drums and fifes rang, everything around Pavia.
Drums and fifes rang, everything around Pavia.
And the one who sang this song, tra la la la la la la la
Is called a Landsknechte !! everywhere around Pavia.
Is called a Landsknechte !! everywhere around Pavia.
Landsknechte (German plural, singular Landsknecht) were European, most often German, mercenary pikemen and supporting foot soldiers from the late 15th to the late 16th century, and achieved the reputation for being the universal mercenary of Early modern Europe.
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 to 1519, formed the first mercenary Landsknecht regiments in 1487. He called upon Georg von Frundsberg (1473--1528), known by many[who?] as the Father of the Landsknechts, to assist him in their organization. Landsknechts later went on to fight in almost every 16th-century military campaign, sometimes on both sides of the engagement.
The Landsknechts, formed in conscious imitation of the Swiss mercenaries (and, initially, using Swiss instructors), eventually contributed to the defeat of the redoubtable Swiss, whose battle formations - overly-dependent on hand-to-hand fighting - became vulnerable to the increased fire power of arquebus and artillery. French artillery or Spanish firepower dealt serious blows to the Swiss formations, and the Landsknecht pike blocks were there to fight off the depleted Swiss attack columns once this had occurred.
The Landsknechts, although rather conservative in their usage of weapons, and always containing a large majority of pikemen, inclined more to the tactical employment of firearms than the Swiss were because Landsknechts relied less on the precipitous rush to close combat and, as Imperial soldiers, they also often fought in formations mixed with Spaniards during the reign of King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. These Spaniards made a good, widespread use of the arquebus and, later, of the musket.
Landsknechts typically came from Swabia, Alsace, Flanders, and the Rhineland, but ultimately the regiments were made up of men from all parts of Europe.
Their battlefield behavior was highly variable. Sometimes, such as at the Battle of Pavia (1525), they performed exceptionally well, fighting to the death on both sides of the conflict, even after their allies fled the field, as was the case for the French employed Landsknechts. The Imperial Landsknechts were instrumental to the Emperor's victory. However, on many other occasions, (such as in the later Italian Wars, French Wars of Religion and the Eighty Years War) their bravery and discipline came under severe criticism, and the Spanish elements of the Imperial army regularly deprecated the battlefield usefulness of the Landsknechts—it was said that the Duke of Alba hired them only to deny the Dutch enemy of their service, and put them on display to swell his numbers, not intending to fight with them. The Huguenots scorned their Landsknecht mercenaries after these were immediately routed by the battered Swiss mercenary pike-block they had been sent to finish off at the Battle of Dreux (1562).
