Condottieri (; singular condottiero and condottiere) were the leaders of the professional military free companies (or mercenaries) contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy from the late Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance. In Renaissance Italian, condottiero meant "contractor", and was synonymous with the modern English title Mercenary Captain. In contemporary Italian, "condottiero" acquired the broader meaning of "military leader", not restricted to mercenaries. In Italian historiography, Renaissance mercenary captains are usually called capitani di ventura (literally "venture captains").