The Freeing of Captives on the Frontier of Granada (13th-15th Centuries)

Abstract

Castile and Granada recognized the right of captives to seek salvation by fleeing. Some escapes were so unbelievable that they could only be explained by divine intercession. The ransoms were paid with money from official assistance, testamentary bequests and alms. The rents of the waqf guaranteed the payment of many ransoms on the Granadan side. Sometimes captives went back home to get the money to pay for their ransoms, leaving members of their families as hostages. Religious reasons justify the Moors’ preference for exchange of captives rather than rescuing them. The ransomers put the captive´s family in touch with his master and they tried to help both sides reach an agreement. They were expected to be honest, but some took advantage of their privileged situations to trade or to spy. Women, children and the young apostatized to improve their living conditions, although this option was more traumatic for Christians than for Muslims.