Publication details
Rules of Engagement. The Laws of Armed Conflict and its Medieval Predecessors
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
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| Description | Today medieval warfare seems brutal and disorderly. The course looks at some of the ordonnances of war from the late Middle Ages and places them in the general course of crises and wars. The analysis of the text shows which components of modern “law of the Hague” have their origins in the late Middle Ages. We compare the war regulations of the Swiss Confederates in the Sempach Letter of 1393 with those of Jan Žižka of 1423, revealing astonishing parallels, especially in the area of operations and behaviour in the field. The course will discuss and contextualise the individual contents of the orders of war, outline the scope of such orders using examples, and build a bridge to today’s international law of war and its practical application. |