06.04.2013 Views

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

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

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

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

(as opposed to rebellion) was considered to be a terrible crime. <strong>The</strong> 11th-century<br />

knight Robert ol Rhuddlan was infamous for refusing to ransom his captives,<br />

preferring instead to imprison them in his dungeons for long periods. Another Norman<br />

knight, Robert of Belleme, made a habit of incarcerating his prisoners <strong>and</strong> even<br />

torturing them; after one engagement some 300 prisoners were left to starve to death<br />

although he was offered large ransoms for their release. Edward I reprim<strong>and</strong>ed one<br />

of his knights, John Fitz Marmaduke, for the degree of pleasure he took in the deaths<br />

of his enemies <strong>and</strong> the excesses of his cruelty.<br />

We are told that the morning after Agincourt the French heralds were given<br />

permission to search the field in order to identify the dead knights <strong>and</strong> nobles; we<br />

should imagine the same task being performed after most battles for whilst thepedites<br />

<strong>and</strong> ignoble might be buried in massed graves such as those excavated at Wisby <strong>and</strong><br />

Towton, the corpses of most knightly warriors would be returned home tor burial, the<br />

CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE<br />

<strong>The</strong> effigy of the Black<br />

Prince, in Canterbury<br />

Cathedral, of gilded<br />

bronze <strong>and</strong> with his helm,<br />

shield, spurs <strong>and</strong> cote-<br />

armour hanging above it,<br />

was a befittingly ornate<br />

tomb for the doyen of<br />

14th-century chivalry.<br />

(Corbis)

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!