The Laws of War in the Late Middle Ages

International Criminal Law's Millennium of Forgotten History

“…Other guild-oriented transnational judicial system also existed. 186 Members of the knightly guild considered themselves defenders of all "Romans" (Christians), 187 and "[t]he law of arms was [regarded as an] extension of the natural law and the law of nations." 188 When it came to enforcing such laws, all medieval military judicial forums regarded themselves as belonging to a single transnational network aimed at regulating a given social sphere (war), monopolized by a specific transnational guild (knights).…”

“…240 Many historians, however, consider this an exaggeration, because "war to the death [between Christian rulers] was uncommon." 241 Wars between Christian rulers were mostly limited conflicts, equivalent to large-scale blood feuds. Similarly to feuds, (a) opponents were considered the enemies of only a given community;…”

“…Some lower-ranking knights are known to have been punished even by their own side for violating these prohibitions. 270 Furthermore, certain non-combatant protections were more adhered to than others; particularly, the law protecting priests 271 and women. 272 Noncombatant legal protections were even more strictly enforced against non-knightly soldiers.…”

“…272 Noncombatant legal protections were even more strictly enforced against non-knightly soldiers. 273 The "tyranny" doctrine was also used to protect civilians. In Roman law, sovereigns who violated their duty to act for the "public good" were deemed tyrants.…”

The enchantment of human rights; or, What difference does humanitarian indifference make?

“…The humanitarian misadventures of Don Quixote consist of misrecognition scenes whereby Quixote's anachronistic ideals – his ‘chivalrous and errant fancies’ (C 162) – lead him to misapprehend the cruel realities of a disenchanted world, often seeing injury where there is none. These misrecognition scenes already contain the seeds of a cultural relativist critique of human rights and humanitarianism; Alonso Quexana reads of an imaginary world enchanted with rights, duties, and justice that are not realised in the world of ‘prosaic vulgarity’ Don Quixote rides into, a world ‘abandoned by god’ and the medieval ‘law governing the conduct of war’ . His outmoded ideals not matching the reality of the world to which they are applied, Don Quixote is making up for lost time, for another time when chivalry supposedly rescued, when humanitarianism saved.…”