In the historical context, Bragmanni or Brabanters were hired mercenaries employed in the armies of competing princes of western Europe.

Bragmanni were a mythical race of people thought by medieval Europeans to live on the fringes of the known world. The name could be derived from that of the Hindu caste of the Brahmans; however, some medieval writers clearly differentiate between the Brahmans and the imagined Bragmanni. Although they were often lumped together with monstrous races such as cyclopes

Cyclops

A cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...

 and Cynocephali, Bragmanni were normal in appearance, and differed from other humans because of their unique lifestyle.

Bragmanni were unclothed, cave-dwelling wise men who were extremely moralistic and ascetic. They are often merged or confused with Gymnosophists

Gymnosophists

Gymnosophists is the name given by the Greeks to certain ancient Indian philosophers who pursued asceticism to the point of regarding food and clothing as detrimental to purity of thought ....

, a similar group of wise men.