Ransom 524260 225333986 2008-07-13T03:52:24Z ClueBot 4928500 Reverting possible vandalism by [[Special:Contributions/99.145.250.205|99.145.250.205]] to version by 81.98.251.134. False positive? [[User:ClueBot/FalsePositives|Report it]]. Thanks, [[User:ClueBot]]. (439031) (Bot) {{Unreferenced|date=April 2007}} {{otheruses4|ransom as a criminal practice|persons sharing the surname "Ransom"|Ransom (surname)|other uses|Ransom (disambiguation)}} {{wiktionarypar|Ransom}} '''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. In early Germanic law a similar concept was called [[Weregild]]. In 78 BC, pirates of modern-day Turkey captured [[Julius Caesar]] and held him on [[Pharmakonisi]] until someone paid a fee for him. It also refers to demanding concessions from a person or organization by threatening damaging action. 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. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''redemptio'' = "buying back": compare "[[wikt:redeem|redemption]]". In Christianity, ransom is the shed blood of [[Jesus]] Christ, which made deliverance from [[sin]] and death possible for the offspring of [[Adam (Bible)|Adam]]. In Judaism ransom is called ''kofer-nefesh'' ({{lang-he|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, as described in {{bibleverse||Exodus|30:11-16}}. In the popular imagination, ransom notes (i.e. letters sent by the captors to those who they expect to pay up) are constructed from letters cut from [[newspaper]]s to stop anyone from recognising the handwriting of the extortionist. In typography, and later in computing lore, the [[ransom note effect]] occurs when a document uses too many [[font]]s. In school athletics, a school's mascot is sometimes kidnapped, and the ransom payment is usually a contest like a football game. == See also == *[[bail]], a judicially determined sum of money deposited as security to ensure that a prisoner appears in court if released. [[Category:Ransom]] [[id:Tebusan]] [[ca:Extorsió]] [[cs:Výkupné]] [[de:Lösegeld]] [[es:Extorsión]] [[eo:Elaĉeta mono]] [[fr:Rançon]] [[he:כופר נפש]] [[ja:身代金]] [[oc:Extorsion]] [[ru:Выкуп]] [[zh:贖金]]