In 1343 the men of Hexham were accused of pretending to be Scots and imprisoning many people of Northumberland and Cumberland, killing some and extorting ransoms for others.
An immense booty and many ransoms rewarded the Scots, whose victory was one of the decisive battles of the world.
Priam ransoms the body of Hector - his burial.
During each of the following eleven years, the Danes, materially assisted by the universal and shameless disloyalty of the Saxon ealdormen, systematically ravaged England, and from 991 to 1014 the wretched land is said to have paid its invaders in ransoms alone L158,000.
The long wars had been adverse to commerce, for which ransoms and the booty of Bannockburn made inadequate compensation.
