Ransom

Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it may refer to the sum of money involved.

In an early German law, a similar concept was called weregild.

When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French rançon from Latin redemptio = "buying back": compare "redemption".

In Judaism ransom is called kofer-nefesh (Hebrew: כפר נפש‎). Among other uses, the word was applied to the poll tax of a half shekel to be paid by every male above twenty years at the census.

Ransom cases

Julius Caesar was captured by pirates near the island of Pharmacusa, and held until someone paid 50 talents to free him.

In Europe during the Middle Ages, ransom became an important custom of chivalric warfare. An important knight, especially nobility or royalty, was worth a significant sum of money if captured, but nothing if he was killed. For this reason, the practice of ransom contributed to the development of heraldry, which allowed knights to advertise their identities, and by implication their ransom value, and made them less likely to be killed out of hand. Examples include Richard the Lion Heart and Bertrand du Guesclin.

Ransom (disambiguation)

Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.

Ransom or The Ransom may also refer to:

People

Places

Books

Film

Escape the Fate

Escape the Fate is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005 and originally from Pahrump, Nevada. They are signed to Eleven Seven Music. The group consists of Robert Ortiz (drummer), Craig Mabbitt (lead vocalist), TJ Bell (rhythm guitarist and vocalist), Kevin "Thrasher" Gruft (lead guitarist) and touring musician Max Georgiev (bassist). As of 2013, Ortiz is the last founding member in the current line up of the group.

They have released three EPs and four full-length studio albums. Dying Is Your Latest Fashion was the band's first album and only album with the vocalist Ronnie Radke. This War Is Ours was released on October 21, 2008. This album departed from the band's earlier emo, darker sound, to a more hard rock, mainstream sound. Less screamed vocals are used and the album has a varied, mixed sound changing from track to track. It is the first Escape the Fate album to with the former Blessthefall singer Craig Mabbitt. The album debuted at No. 35 on the Billboard 200, selling 13,000 copies in the first week. Their third studio album, Escape the Fate, was released worldwide on November 2, 2010. It was the band's only album released on DGC/Interscope following their departure with Epitaph. The album charted at No. 25 on the Billboard 200, No. 1 on Hard Rock Albums, No. 4 on Rock Albums, No. 3 on Alternative and Independent charts and No. 18 on the Digital Albums Chart. The album is heavier than the previous album and has a darker sound. On release, the album received generally positive reviews, and is Escape the Fate's most successful album to date. It is the band's last release with bass guitarist Max Green. Their fourth album, Ungrateful, was released on May 14, 2013, by Eleven Seven Music, and charted at No. 27 on the Billboard 200, with 17,000 copies sold in its first week.