单选题
In Roman times, defeated enemies were generally put
to death as criminals for having offended the emperor of Rome. In the Middle
Ages, however, the practice of ransoming, or returning prisoners in exchange for
money, became common. Though some saw this as a step toward a more humane
society, the primary reasons behind it were economic rather than
humanitarian. In those times, rulers had only a limited ability
to raise taxes. They could neither force their subjects to fight nor pay them to
do so. The promise of material compensation in the form of goods and ransom was
therefore the only way of inducing combatants to participate in a war. In the
Middle Ages, the predominant incentive for the individual soldier was the
expectation of spoils. Although collecting ransom clearly brought financial
gain, keeping a prisoner and arranging for his exchange had its costs.
Consequently, procedures were devised to reduce transaction costs.
One such device was a rule asserting that the prisoner had to assess his
own value. This compelled the prisoner to establish a value without too much
distortion, indicating too low a value would increase the captive's chances of
being killed, while indicating too high a value would either ruin him
financially or create a prohibitively expensive ransom that would also result in
death.
单选题
The primary purpose of the passage is to ______.
A. discuss the economic basis of the medieval practice of exchanging
prisoners for ransom
B. examine the history of the treatment of prisoners of war
C. emphasize the importance of a warrior's code of honor during the Middle
Ages