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 hous…