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Remy Ambuhl Phd Thesis

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Remy Ambuhl Phd Thesis PRISONERS OF WAR IN THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR THE GOLDEN AGE OF PRIVATE RANSOMS Rémy Ambühl A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews 2009 Full metadata for this item is available in the St Andrews Digital Research Repository at: https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/757 This item is protected by original copyright University of St-Andrews School of History PhD thesis in Medieval History Prisoners of War in the Hundred Years War The Golden Age of Private Ransoms Rémy Ambühl Supervised by Prof. Chris Given-Wilson March 2009 I, Rémy Ambühl, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 80,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2005 and as a candidate for the degree of Ph.D in June 2006; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2005 and 2009. date ………… signature of candidate ………………… I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Ph.D in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. date ………… signature of supervisor ………………… In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews we understand that we are giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. We also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. We have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: Access to Printed copy and electronic publication of thesis through the University of St Andrews. date ……… signature of candidate ……………… signature of supervisor …………… 2 Abstract If the issue of prisoners of war has given rise to numerous studies in recent years, nevertheless, this topic is far from exhausted. Built on a large corpus of archival sources, this study fuels the debate on ransoms and prisoners with new material. Its originality lies in its broad choronological framework, i.e. the duration of the Hundred Years War, as well as its perspective – that of lower ranking as well as higher-ranking prisoners on both side of the Channel. What does it mean for those men to live in the once coined ‘golden age of private ransoms’? My investigations hinge around three different themes: the status of prisoners of war, the ransoming process and the networks of assistance. I argue that the widespread practice of ransoming becomes increasingly systematic in the late Middle Ages. More importantly, I show how this evolution comes ‘from below’; from the individual masters and prisoners who faced the multiple obstacles raised by the lack of official structure. Indeed, the ransoming of prisoners remained the preserve of private individuals throughout the war and no sovereign could afford that this became otherwise. It is specifically the non-interventionism of the crown and the large freedom of action of individuals which shaped the ransom system. 3 Contents Abstract .........................................................................................................................................................3 Contents ........................................................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................5 Note on currency..........................................................................................................................................7 Abbreviations...............................................................................................................................................8 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................9 PART I: STATUS, LAW AND POLITICS...................................................................................... 21 Chap. 1: The status of prisoner of war and the laws of ransom........................................................22 I. The rules....................................................................................................................................................... 23 II. The experience of prisoners....................................................................................................................... 27 III. Private agreements ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Chap. 2: Prisoners of war and criminals: Status and politics in Lancastrian Normandy.............43 I. Soldiers and brigands: two interconnected worlds................................................................................ 44 II. The charge of brigandage .......................................................................................................................... 46 III. Strategy and politics ................................................................................................................................... 50 IV. In the Hundred Years War ........................................................................................................................ 56 Chap. 3: Princes, captors and prisoners.................................................................................................59 I. Rules for the acquisition of prisoners....................................................................................................... 60 II. Motives......................................................................................................................................................... 63 III. Henry V’s prisoners of war ....................................................................................................................... 67 IV. In the Hundred Years War ........................................................................................................................ 77 PART II: THE PROCESS OF RANSOMING ................................................................................. 83 Chap. 4: Capture and captivity................................................................................................................85 I. The capture: context, rules and practices................................................................................................. 85 II. The prison .................................................................................................................................................... 91 III. The custody.................................................................................................................................................. 98 Chap. 5: Ransom agreements ................................................................................................................105 I. Assessment of the ransom ....................................................................................................................... 105 II. Negotiating the ransom ........................................................................................................................... 111 Chap. 6: Between enemy territories .....................................................................................................120 I. The heralds ................................................................................................................................................ 121 II. ‘Good, safe and loyal’ safe-conducts...................................................................................................... 124 PART III: NETWORKS OF ASSISTANCE................................................................................... 136 Chap. 7: Assistance from princes..........................................................................................................137 I. An obligation toward the prisoner? ....................................................................................................... 137 II. From petition to grant .............................................................................................................................. 141 III. Forms of support....................................................................................................................................... 148 Chap. 8: Company, friends and family................................................................................................163
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