Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery. The word brigand entered English as brigant via French from Italian as early as 1400. Under the laws of war, soldiers acting on their own recognizance without operating in chain of command, are brigands, liable to be tried under civilian laws as common criminals. However, on occasions brigands are not mere malefactors, but may be the last resort of people subject to invasion.