Captivity and Imprisonment in Medieval Europe, 1000-1300

Medieval imprisonment was not normally punitive. Instead, it was intended as a method of coercion, to exort ransom or revenge from a fellow aristocrat, to discipline members of a household or to remove a dangerous opponent. Also, as Dunbabin's interesting study makes clear, forms of captivity could vary to an extraordinary degree. This scholarly yet accessible study draws on a wide range of sources to examine places of imprisonment, including castle dungeons, luxurious towers and private houses, the types of custodian one could expect, living conditions, punishments, ecclesiastical imprisonment and the means by which a prisoner could be released. The study is illustrated throughout with examples of well-known or notorious imprisonments and prisoners, including Richard I, as well as many less well known cases.