Medieval hostageship, c. 700-c. 1500 : hostage, captive, prisoner of war, guarantee, peacemaker / edited by Matthew Bennett and Katherine Weikert.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The state of play : medieval hostageship and modern scholarship / Matthew Bennett and Katherine Weikert -- Aldhelm "Old Helmet," First Bishop of Sherbourne, and his Helmgils, "Helmet Hostage," First Abbot of Glastonbury, on the Dorset/Devon coast at Lyme : the making of a West Saxon bishopric / Katherine Barker -- Perceiving and personifying status and submission in pre-Viking England : some observations on a few early hostages / Ryan Lavelle -- The role of hostages in the Danish conquests of England and Norway, 1013-30 / Alice Hicklin -- Warrior narratives and hostageship ethos : Old French literature and "reality" in the twelfth century / Matthew Bennett -- Exigens obsides ab eis : hostages under King John of England, 1199-1216 / Cristian Ispir -- Female hostages : definitions and distinctions / Gwen Seabourne -- The princesses who might have been hostages : the custody and marriages of Margaret and Isabella of Scotland, 1209-1220s / Katherine Weikert -- "Thy father's valiancy has proved no boon" : the fates of Helena Angelina Doukaina and her children / Annette Parks -- The royal prisoner of Henry IV and Henry V : James I of Scotland, 1406-24 / Gordon McKelvie -- Commanding the crown : royal hostages in the Wars of the Roses, 1455-83 / Alex Brondarbit -- Hostages and the laws of war : the surrender of the Castle and Palace of Rouen, 1449-68 / R�emy Amb�uhl.

"This volume explores the issues of taking, using and being hostages in the Middle Ages. It brings together recent research in the areas of hostages and hostageships, looking at the act of hostage-taking and the hostages themselves through the lenses of political and social history. Building upon previous work, this volume in particular critically examines not only the situations of hostages and hostageships but also the broader social and political context of each situation, developing a more complete picture of the phenomenon"--Provided by publisher.