Ransom: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

All Topics

Ransom

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

	Ransom
	Home
	Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved. In early Germanic law a similar concept was called Weregild Weregild Weregild was a reparational payment usually demanded of a person guilty of homicide or other wrongful death claim, although it could also be demanded in other cases of serious crime.... . Julius Caesar Julius Caesar 'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.... was captured by pirates near the island of Pharmacusa Pharmakonisi Pharmakonisi, or Farmakonisi , is a small Greece island of the Dodecanese prefecture. It has also been known as Pharmakos, Farmaco, or Pharmakousa .... and held until someone paid 50 talents to free him. It also refers to demanding concessions from a person or organization by threatening damaging action. In Europe during the Middle Ages Middle Ages File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi... , ransom became an important custom of chivalric warfare. An important knight Knight File:Gothic armor 2.jpgKnight is the term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. In the Commonwealth of Nations, knighthood is a non-heritable form of gentry.... , especially nobility Nobility Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary or for a lifetime. Titles of nobility exist today in many countries although it is usually associated with present or former monarchies.... or royalty Royal family A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term "imperial family" more appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress regnant, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate in reference to the relatives of a reigning duke, grand duke, or prince.... , was worth a significant sum of money if captured, but nothing if he was killed. For this reason, the practice of ransom contributed to the development of heraldry Heraldry Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms.... , which allowed knights to advertise their identities, and by implication their ransom value, and made them less likely to be killed out of hand. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French rançon from Latin redemptio = "buying back": compare "redemption". In Christianity, ransom is the shed blood of Jesus Jesus Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation .... Christ, which made deliverance from sin Sin Sin is a term used mainly in a religion context to describe an act that violates a morality rule, or the state of having committed such a violation.... and death possible for the offspring of Adam. In Judaism ransom is called kofer-nefesh . Among other uses, the word was applied to the poll tax Poll tax A poll tax, head tax, or capitation tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corv?e is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax .... of a half shekel Shekel Shekel, also rendered sheqel, refers to one of many ancient units of weight and currency. The first known usage is from Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement around 3000 BC.... to be paid by every male above twenty years at the census. In the popular imagination, ransom notes (i.e. letters sent by the captors to those who they expect to pay up) are constructed from letters cut from newspaper Newspaper A newspaper is a publication containing news, information and advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on Politics, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports.... s to stop anyone from recognising the handwriting of the extortionist. In typography, and later in computing lore, the ransom note effect Ransom note effect In typography, the ransom note effect is the result of using an excessive number of juxtaposed typefaces. It takes its name from the appearance of a stereotypical ransom note, with the message formed from words or letters cut randomly from a magazine or newspaper in order to avoid using recognisable handwriting.... occurs when a document uses too many font Font In typography, a font is traditionally defined as a complete character set of a single size and style of a particular typeface. For example, the set of all characters for 9-point Bulmer italic type is a font, and the 10-point size would be a separate font, as would the 9 point upright.... s. In school athletics, a school's mascot is sometimes kidnapped, and the ransom payment is usually a contest like a football game. See also bail Bail Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court in order to persuade it to release a suspect from County jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail .... , a judicially determined sum of money deposited as security to ensure that a prisoner appears in court if released. extortion Extortion Extortion, outwresting, or exaction is a crime, which occurs, when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion.... , a legal term. blackmail Blackmail Blackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal Substantial truth information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand made upon the victim is met.... , a legal term.