Comment by recursivecaveat

There were a lot of these guys around that time. England imported a ton of soldiers into France for the Hundred Years War, then just didn't take them back home when they signed a treaty, so they all took up residence as mercenaries, brigands, and extortionists basically: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_company In a feudal era where power structures were less centralized and more about personal relationships, it was easier to smoothly transition between a 'proper' noble and somebody who 'just' owned a fort and a bunch of soldiers to collect rent with, and there was always somebody willing to pay to make you their neighbor's problem.