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The Church Fathers · 697
The Law of the Innocents
Cáin Adomnáin
Adomnán of Iona · c. 624–704
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What it is
A law promulgated at a synod of Irish and Pictish kings and clergy, imposing heavy penalties for killing or wounding women, children, and clerics in war.
Why it lasted
One of the earliest attempts anywhere to place non-combatants under legal protection in wartime.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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