There was a time, long ago, but after the hay day of feudalism, when 'dynastic' and royal troops in Europe, and even their commanders, were motivated by booty, among other things. Certainly regular troops thought only of booty, and of some modicum of comfort.
Concepts of patriotism, loyalty, etc, were not yet really on the horizon.
It took the rise of the concept of a nation state, especially after the rise of revolutionary France, to partially transform older relationships.
One of the lurking problems, for laissez faire globalist regimes, which pride themselves on thinking outside the nation state box, so to speak, has to do with motivation.
Several modern authors, known even to a layman like me, have addressed these themes. Clausewitz was the first, I guess, among 'modern' authors. (Yet, certainly the Greeks believed, according to their historians, that their patriotism overcame the mercenaries of Darius, and then Xerxes.)
Historically, mercenaries were resorted to by city states and others. Frederick early on shunned them apparently.
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