What would happen to the bodies and gear after a big medieval battle?

by TThor

After two medieval armies fought each other, what would happen to the bodies? Were they brought back to their homelands by surviving allies (if there were any around), were they buried in mass graves by the victors, or just left to rot? What would happen to the gear of the fallen enemy army, I would imagine some of the weapons and armor on the dead might be worth quite a lot, did they loot the bodies? What items might they have particularly looked for, and would they just sell the loot off, or might they use some of the gear in their own army?

Another question that comes to mind, how common was it for men to abandon their army and run away during battle? Did the enemy army, or even their own army, make a point of hunting down the people who ran?

Searocksandtrees

hi! there's always room for more info & examples from various places & times, but FYI, you'll find some previous discussions in the FAQ*

Battlefield clean-ups

*see the link on the sidebar or the wiki tab