Why did local people, even local lords, rely on gangs like Catena’s as much as they feared them?

Question

a) In an age before police forces, the sorts of “protections” men like Catena offered could substitute for the police or serve as a private army.
b) Because people were terrified of opposing men like Catena, they were happy to do whatever the men requested, hoping they would reward them.
Consider This: How much support were the pope’s Swiss troops able to offer locals when they found themselves under attack? See 1.8: Narrative: Breaking the Chain.
c) Local lords actually opposed gangs like Catena’s whenever they could, but got little support from authorities such as the pope.
Consider This: How much support were the pope’s Swiss troops able to offer locals when they found themselves under attack? See 1.8: Narrative: Breaking the Chain.
d) Because Catena and others like him couched their deeds in traditional notions of courage and honor, their behavior could be made to seem useful and appropriate in certain circumstances.
Consider This: How much support were the pope’s Swiss troops able to offer locals when they found themselves under attack? See 1.8: Narrative: Breaking the Chain.

Answer 1

a) In an age before police forces, the sorts of “protections” men like Catena offered could substitute for the police or serve as a private army.