By Sword and Fire

by Sean McGlynn

  William, Count of Aumale, ref1

  William I the Conqueror, King, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and battle of Hastings, ref1

  and castles, ref1, ref2

  and fall of Exeter, ref1, ref2

  Harrying of the North, ref1, ref2

  and Normandy, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  ruthlessness, ref1, ref2

  William I the Lion, King of Scotland, ref1, ref2, ref3

  William III, King, ref1

  William de Beverley, Archdeacon, ref1

  William des Barres, ref1

  William fitz Duncan, ref1

  William Longsword, ref1, ref2

  William of Albiny, ref1, ref2

  William of la Roche Guyon, ref1

  William of Malmesbury, ref1, ref2, ref3

  William of Newburgh, ref1

  William of Poitiers, ref1, ref2, ref3

  William of Puylaurens, ref1

  William of Tudela, ref1, ref2

  William of Tyre, ref1, ref2, ref3

  William the Breton, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  and siege of Château Gaillard, ref1, ref2

  Williams, Ann, ref1

  Winchester, Bishop of, ref1

  Winchester, ref1

  Winchester, statute of, ref1

  Windsor Castle, ref1, ref2

  Wingfield, Sir John, ref1

  Winwaed, battle of, ref1

  witch hunts, ref1

  witches, ref1

  women, ref1, ref2, ref3

  burial alive, ref1

  burning of, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and chivalry, ref1, ref2

  cutting off of breasts, ref1, ref2

  drowning of, ref1

  hanging of, ref1

  Jewish, ref1, ref2

  married, ref1

  men disguised as, ref1

  pardons for, ref1

  pregnant, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and prisoners, ref1

  protection for, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and rape, ref1

  and sack of Jerusalem, ref1, ref2

  and Scottish invasions, ref1, ref2

  and siege of Béziers, ref1, ref2

  and siege of Toulouse, ref1

  and sieges, ref1, ref2

  trial by ordeal, ref1

  and Welsh raids, ref1, ref2

  Woodstock, ref1

  World Wars, ref1

  Worringen, battle of, ref1

  wrestling matches, ref1

  Wright, Nicholas, ref1

  Wulfsige, abbot of Ramsey, ref1

  Wydville family, ref1

  Wysbeche, John, ref1

  xenophobia, ref1

  York, Duke of, ref1

  York, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  Yorkshire, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  Yugoslavia, former, ref1, ref2

  Zimbardo, Philip, ref1

  Picture Section

  Torture of captives. The livery of the soldier is that of William Marshal, considered by many contemporaries and historians as the epitome of chivalry. (Matthew Paris manuscript, 13th century.)

  Turkish soldiers torturing, killing and eating prisoners. Although such depictions were designed to demonize the enemy, they frequently had their foundations in reality. (Matthew Paris manuscript, 13th century.)

  The execution of Hugh Despenser in 1326. Public executions served as a deterrent by the authorities while also meeting popular demand for the visible enforcement of justice and punishment. Many executions, such as the one here, involved mutilation and torture of the condemned man before death. (French School, 15th century.)

  Massacre of prisoners, believed to be at the battle of Agincourt, 1415. Henry V’s chivalrous reputation survived unscathed despite his order for the execution of French prisoners. This action, based on ruthless military reasoning, has shocked modern commentators more than Henry’s contemporaries. (English School, 15th century.)

  Crusaders hurl the heads of Muslim soldiers over the defences at Nicaea in 1097. Atrocities committed on both sides were not limited to the Crusades: medieval armies regularly employed such acts of psychological warfare so as to undermine the morale and resistance of the enemy. (French School, 13th century.)

  Richard the Lionheart orders the beheading of over 2,500 Muslim prisoners at Acre in 1191. Richard’s decision was based on a combination of factors: maintaining face, revenge and, most importantly of all, military imperative. (French School, 15th century.)

  A mother and child escape their house which is being burnt. Scorched-earth policies deprived an enemy of resources and were also used as a punitive measure against troublesome regions. (Bayeux Tapestry, 11th century.)

  Soldiers kill non-combatants and sack a town. Non-combatants were frequently targeted with the intention of terrorizing a population into submission while undermining the economic base of the enemy. The victim on the left being run through with a sword is a priest. (French School, 15th century.)

  The expulsion of inhabitants from Carcassonne in 1209 during the Albigensian Crusade. Unlike the massacre at Béziers a few weeks earlier, the Crusade leaders prevented any slaughter here – not on humanitarian grounds, but primarily for strategic and financial reasons. (French School, 15th century.)

  Massacre of the Innocents. Depictions of biblical horrors often coloured monastic reporting of contemporary atrocities. However, many monks were well informed and had local knowledge of the savage reality of warfare. (Psalter, German, 13th century.)

  About the Author

  Sean McGlynn is Lecturer in Lifelong Learning, School of Humanities, University of Bristol and the author of Blood Cries Afar: The Forgotten Invasion of England 2016. He has contributed to a number of books, including the Cassell Atlas of the Medieval World, Reader’s Guide to Military History and Oxford University Press’s Encyclopaedia of Medieval Welfare. He is a regular contributor to many journals and magazines, including History Today, English Historical Review, History, French History, Canadian Journal of History and The Times Higher Education Supplement. He lives near Bath.

  A PHOENIX EBOOK

  First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

  First published in ebook in 2014 by Phoenix.

  Copyright © Sean McGlynn 2008

  The moral right of Sean McGlynn to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN: 978 1 7802 2753 5

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