On March 11, 1387, the English condottiero John Hawkwood led the forces of Padua to victory over the army of Verona at the Battle of Castagnaro. Hawkwood, one of the most famous mercenary captains of his age, employed innovative tactics to achieve a decisive victory that extended Padua's influence in northern Italy. The battle was a testament to the military skill of the English mercenaries who fought in the Italian wars and demonstrated the effectiveness of combined-arms tactics.

The Battle of Castagnaro and the career of John Hawkwood were celebrated in contemporary chronicles and poems that admired the English mercenary's military prowess and his rise from humble origins to a position of wealth and influence. Hawkwood became a legendary figure in English and Italian literature, with poets and dramatists drawing upon his life as an example of the soldier of fortune and the shifting loyalties of the age. His story also appears in the works of later poets, who saw him as a symbol of the martial spirit and the complexities of war.