Playing Dice by Master Jean de Mauléon (c.1535)
Cracking down on illegal gambling in Medieval Livonia
Anu Mänd (Institute of History, University of Tallin)
Just like their modern day counterparts, medieval cities had to deal with their own criminal underworlds – the sex trade, gambling, and violence taking place within their walls. At the International Medieval Congress, held earlier this month at the University of Leeds, these issues were explored as part of session #706: Perceiving and Regulating Vices. Historians examined different places in Europe, and asked questions such as what was permitted? What were the penalties for breaking the laws? How much was dictated by the church? Did officials turn a blind eye to misdeeds?
In her paper, ‘Crime and Punishment: Regulating Gambling in Livonian Towns (1440-1525)’, Anu Mänd examined one of the favourite pastimes in the Middle Ages, but one that was condemned by the church and civic authorities. Mänd, who teaches history at Tallinn University, asked how was this vice regulated in medieval Livonian towns, and who were the most typical gamblers?
‘No one shall practice unnecessary dobbelpil’
During her research Mänd discovered that guilds, confraternities and town councils in Tallinn, Riga, Tartu and New Pärnu all issued statutes regulating gambling, which was called “Dobbelen” or “dobbelspil” in Old German.
Fines for gambling depended on whether the offence was committed in the guild hall or elsewhere. If it occurred in the guild hall, the fine was usually higher. Guild and confraternity attitudes depended on the guild type so fines could range from minor to severe. Mänd examined the court records of Tallinn between 1394-1521. Gamblers were recorded as ‘de dabbler”. The actual fine for gambling in Tallinn was one mark, or half a mark in some cases. While this fine remained unchanged over the period, it could also be increased if the gambler combined their gambling ‘with other misdeeds’. Some court records included punishments for up to 30 people at a time!Examples of gambling with other misdeeds included (but not limited to):
- 1412: organizing gambling in one’s house
- 1435: grabbing a knife (during a game)
- 1458: tapping off wine after 9pm and organising gambling in one’s cellar
Gambling was forbidden on feast days and Sundays under threat of excommunication, however, the most severe punishments were reserved for cheats. If you used weighted dice when you gambled, you paid with your life. Despite heavy punishments, the authorities found little success in clamping down on offenders. Since gambling was associated with drinking, the games could often lead to violence.
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