History of War Crime

 

The rape of the Sabine women (Latin: Sabinae raptae, Classical pronunciation: [saˈbiːnae̯ ˈraptae̯]; lit. 'the kidnapped Sabine women'), also known as the abduction of the Sabine women or the kidnapping of the Sabine women, was an incident in the legendary history of Rome in which the men of Rome committed bride kidnappings or mass abduction for the purpose of marriage, of women from other cities in the region. It has been a frequent subject of painters and sculptors, particularly since the Renaissance.

The word "rape" (cognate with rapto in Portuguese, rapto in Spanish, ratto, in Italian, meaning "bride kidnap") is the conventional translation of the Latin word raptio used in the ancient accounts of the incident. The Latin word means "taking", "abduction" or "kidnapping", but when used with women as its object, sexual assault[2] is usually implied.

Dr Tom Hamilton from our Department of History has discovered criminal records revealing a rare, 400-year-old legal case which successfully prosecuted a soldier for sexual crimes during Europe’s notoriously violent Wars of Religion.

ustice after war

The case was led by powerful widow and landowner, Renée Chevalier, who was appalled by the sexual abuse of villagers on her land in central France committed by military captain, Mathurin Delacanche from 1590-91.

Almost a decade later, following the end of the Wars of Religion, Chevalier was determined to seek justice and transported 57 villagers by boat from central France to bring their case before the high court in Paris.

She won the case and Mathurin Delacanche was found guilty and hanged in 1600.

Rape of Tamar, c. 1640 by 

Eustache Le Sueur or Lesueur (French pronunciation: [østaʃ lə sɥœʁ]; 19 November 1617[citation needed] – 30 April 1655) was a French artist and one of the founders of the French Academy of Painting. He is known primarily for his paintings of religious subjects. He was a leading exponent of the neoclassical style of Parisian Atticism.

Bulgarian martyresses

Русский: Картина «Болгарские мученицы»

Летом 1877 года Маковский уехал на Балканы

Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky (Russian: Константи́н Его́рович Мако́вский; (20 June o.c.) 2 July n.c. 1839 – 17 o.c. (30 n.c.) September 1915)