to dooe this, in plasyng them together, you must ordeine the fower skore
rankes, of five in a ranke, thus: Set all the Pikes in the first twentie
rankes, and place the Peticapitaines thereof, five in the first places,
and five in the last: the other three score rankes, whiche come after,
bee all of Targaettes, whiche come to bee three Centuries. Therefore,
the first and the laste ranke of every Centurion, would be
Peticapitaines, the Conestable with the Ansigne, and with the Drumme,
muste stande in the middest of the first Centurie of Targaettes, and the
Centurions in the hed of every Centurie. The bande thus ordained, when
you would have the Pikes to come on the left flancke, you must redouble
Centurie by Centurie, on the right flancke: if you would have them to
come on the right flancke, you must redouble theim on the lefte. And so
this battaile tourneth with the Pikes upon a flancke, and the Conestable
in the middeste: the whiche facion it hath marchyng: but the enemie
commyng, and the tyme that it would make of flancke hedde, it nedeth not
but to make every man to tourne his face, towardes thesame flancke,
where the Pikes be, and then the battaile tourneth with the rankes, and
with the heddes in thesame maner, as is aforesaied: for that every man
is in his place, excepte the Centurions, and the Centurions straight
waie, and without difficultie, place themselves: But when thei in
marchyng, should bee driven to faight on the backe, it is convenient to
ordein the rankes after soch sorte, that settyng theim in battaile, the
Pikes maie come behinde, and to doe this, there is to bee kepte no other
order, then where in orderyng the battaile, by the ordinarie, every
Centurie hath five rankes of Pikes before, to cause that thei maie have
them behind, and in all the other partes to observe thorder, whiche I
declared firste.

COSIMO. You have tolde (if I dooe well remember me) that this maner of
exercise, is to bee able to bryng these battailes together into an