A historian at the University of Southampton has discovered the first use of the term “prisoner of war.” Court documents from 1357 show the term first used for the Count de Ventadour, who was captured at the Battle of Poitiers, writes BBC. “It’s possible this early use of the phrase was prompted by the very large number of soldiers captured at Poitiers,” said historian Remy Ambuhl to BBC. According to Ambuhl, this suggests a “new phrase linked to a new status.” Ambuhl’s research has shown that the legal “rights” attached to a medieval prisoner of war were not about protecting the captured soldier but was instead about protecting the property rights of whoever held the prisoner. Ambuhl says that the origin of the phrase is completely different than what it means today. Modern ideas of “prisoners of war” revolve around the international rules governing the treatment of captured soldiers. But medieval warfare had its own international market in the sale of prisoners, and ransoms were lucrative sources of income for soldiers. Back then, “prisoner of war” status gave the “master” or owner of the prisoner legal protections over what had become valuable commodities, writes BBC. Ambuhl says the term was first used as an assertion of private, financial rights.
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