Friday, 9 February 2018

First Knight

The Count de Ventadour, captured at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 AD holds the distinction of being the first prisoner to be described officially in a court document as a 'prisoner of war' in England.

Battle Of Poitiers ..... Big Defeat For French
Battle Of Poitiers ..... Big Defeat For French

Court documents from 1357 AD show the term being used instead of 'slave' or 'owned' to describe someone held for ransom after being captured in battle.
 
However the origin of the phrase "prisonnier de guerre" (prisoner of war), is completely different from modern ideas of international rules governing the treatment of captured soldiers. The designation of prisoner of war status gave the master or owner of the prisoner, legal protections over the sale (ransom) of the prisoners. But the courts also used the term slave to describe the relationship for many years.

Sir Bartholomew Burghersh ... Prisoner Of War Taker
Sir Bartholomew Burghersh ... POW Taker

As for the luckless count, he had been legally "owned" by Lord Burghersh, a close adviser to Edward, the Black Prince, and had been bought for 10,000 marks (£5,000) by King Edward III .... a phenomenal amount when you realise that the amount raised by taxation in England annually would have been about £40,000.

He had been released by1360 AD, as he formed part of the deal to return King John II, the French King, who was also captured at Poitiers. Lord Burghersh (Sir Bartholomew Burghersh, the younger), also captured Henry Vaulx in 1360 AD .... he made a lot of money from these and other ransoms.
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5 comments:

  1. Vroomfondel11 February 2018 at 13:55

    Interesting use of language. Lord Burghersh must have realised that his "slaves" were somebody else's prisoners and worth more than a slave. An early marketing executive perhaps?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No PC11 February 2018 at 16:34

      A proto-free-marketeer capitalist in the making. Family probably one of the top 1 per-cent now ... just pulling your leg Vroomfondel.

      Delete
    2. Vroomfondel12 February 2018 at 13:38

      I'm not against free marketeers Orange Male, just the excesses.

      Delete
    3. No PC12 February 2018 at 15:13

      I suspect that hostage taking for ransom, or POW taking, as we now should call it, is possibly an excess.

      Delete
    4. Vroomfondel12 February 2018 at 20:59

      Well, if it is, I'm against it. Always know where your towel is.

      Delete

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