Osprey - General Military - Knight - The Warrior and ... - Brego-weard

(as opposed to rebellion) was considered to be a terrible crime. The 11th-century
knight Robert ol Rhuddlan was infamous for refusing to ransom his captives,
preferring instead to imprison them in his dungeons for long periods. Another Norman
knight, Robert of Belleme, made a habit of incarcerating his prisoners and even
torturing them; after one engagement some 300 prisoners were left to starve to death
although he was offered large ransoms for their release. Edward I reprimanded one
of his knights, John Fitz Marmaduke, for the degree of pleasure he took in the deaths
of his enemies and the excesses of his cruelty.
We are told that the morning after Agincourt the French heralds were given
permission to search the field in order to identify the dead knights and nobles; we
should imagine the same task being performed after most battles for whilst thepedites
and ignoble might be buried in massed graves such as those excavated at Wisby and
Towton, the corpses of most knightly warriors would be returned home tor burial, the
CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE
The effigy of the Black
Prince, in Canterbury
Cathedral, of gilded
bronze and with his helm,
shield, spurs and cote-
armour hanging above it,
was a befittingly ornate
tomb for the doyen of
14th-century chivalry.
(Corbis)