Acre

On the way to retake The Holy Land during The Third Crusade (1189-1192), King Richard I and Philip II took the time to take the town of Acre (Akko), a port on preasent-day Israel's northwest coast.

They held roughly 2 500 to 2 700 civilians hostage and then Richard just killed them, children and all, alike.

After Richards brutality at Acre, Saracen mothers for many years would quiet and frighten children by telling them if they did not behave 'Richard would come for them'.

Good King Richard the Lion-Hearted. :-)

A"cre (#), n. [OE. aker, AS. aecer; akin to OS. accar, OHG. achar, Ger. acker, Icel. akr, Sw. �x86;ker, Dan. ager, Goth. akrs, L. ager, Gr. , Skr. ajra. 2, 206.]

1.

Any field of arable or pasture land.

2.

A piece of land, containing 160 square rods, or 4,840 square yards, or 43,560 square feet. This is the English statute acre. That of the United States is the same. The Scotch acre was about 1.26 of the English, and the Irish 1.62 of the English.

⇒ The acre was limited to its present definite quantity by statutes of Edward I., Edward III., and Henry VIII.

Broad acres, many acres, much landed estate. [Rhetorical] -- God's acre, God's field; the churchyard.

I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls

The burial ground, God's acre. Longfellow.

© Webster 1913.