Brigands

Brigands are members of armed bands that commit robbery and violence, often in rural or mountainous regions. The term covers a range of outlaw groups across different eras and geographies, from medieval and early modern Europe to other contexts where centralized authority was weak or contested. Brigandage typically involved organized looting of caravans, villages, or travelers, as well as extortion, kidnapping, and sometimes cattle rustling. Some brigand bands operated under a clear hierarchy and code of conduct, while others were loosely affiliated groups of criminals.

Historically, brigands emerged where state power extended unevenly, or during wars and peasant unrest. They could be regional problems rather than nationwide organizations, and in some periods they were tolerated or even supported by local communities that suffered predation elsewhere. States responded with garrisons, militias, or special brigand-fighting laws, and many brigand bands were dispersed, defeated, or absorbed into regular criminal activity or military units.

In culture, brigands have appeared in folklore and literature, sometimes romanticized as noble outlaws or symbols of resistance, though contemporary accounts emphasize threat to safety and property. The term brigandage is used in legal and historical contexts to describe such organized criminal activity and its suppression.