Page "Prisoner of war" Paragraph 9

In the later Middle Ages, a number of religious wars aimed to not only defeat but eliminate their enemies.

In Christian Europe, the extermination of the heretics or " non-believers " was considered desirable.

Examples include the 13th century Albigensian Crusade and the Northern Crusades.

When asked by a Crusader how to distinguish between the Catholics and Cathars once they'd taken the city of Béziers, the Papal Legate Arnaud Amalric famously replied, " Kill them all, God will know His own ".