Medieval London Murders: Edmund de Brekkles
On Sunday, June 10, 1324, the body of Edmund de Brekles, a chaplain, was found dead in the house of John de Maltone and Juliana Aunsel, in the Ward of Bishopsgate.
THINGS TO SEE: Murder in the Cathedral
This is my review of the T.S. Eliot’s play, “Murder in the Cathedral”, on at St. Bartholomew in Smithfield, London.
Medieval London Murders: Joice de Cornwall
This is the first in a series of posts that will look at homicides from medieval London.
Property, Propriety, and Patriarchy: Abduction, Assault and Housebreaking in the Court of Common Pleas, 1399-1500
The purpose of this thesis is to examine how pleas of assault, housebreaking, and abduction cases in the Court of Common Pleas were shaped by social visions of gender hierarchy, and the personal conduct expected of persons as members of households and governors of households
Power relations in the royal forests of England patronage : privilege and legitimacy in the reigns of Henry III and Edward I
The England of the Plantagenets (1189–1377) which honed the royal forest system was a typically medieval land. Its ultimate foundations lay upon the long established notion of the three estates: those who fought, those who prayed, and those who worked.
The Cross-dressing Women of Medieval London
Women going around dressed as men, wearing men’s hats, and even having their hair cut short, was not an acceptable practice in medieval society. However, in late medieval London there were at least 13 cases of women accused of doing just that.
The history of foxglove poisoning, was Edward IV a victim?
The history of foxglove poisoning, was Edward IV a victim? Peter Stride (University of Queensland School of Medicine, Australia) Fiona Winston-Brown (Librarian, Redcliffe…
How to defraud your lord on the medieval manor
Here are six ways to commit fraud explained by Robert Carpenter in the 13th century.
Violence and Repression in Late Medieval Italy
Between the second half of the thirteenth century and the first half of the fifteenth, central and northern Italian city-states frequently suffered moments of disruption of the social peace because of factional battles.
How Charles the Bold dispensed justice
Shortly before his visit to Middelburg, the governor, a nobleman and knight, fell in love with a married woman. She indignantly spurned his advances. The governor took revenge against the woman by having her husband arrested and imprisoned on a charge of high treason.
A Male Transvestite Prostitution In 14th Century London: The Testimony of John Rykener
A Male Transvestite Prostitution In 14th Century London: The Testimony of John Rykener By Erkan Oruçoğlu Published Online (2013) Introduction: Studies of sexuality, homosexuality,…
Criminal Behaviour by Pilgrims in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
In the early and high Middle Ages, an introspective religiosity was predominant and supported by Benedictine and Cistercian monks; thus, pil- grimages to holy places were neither as popular nor practiced as they were in the period from the late Middle Ages onwards.
Murder Will Out: Kingship, Kinship and Killing in Medieval Scotland
In fifteenth-century France and England, however, murder became more general, encompassing premeditated killing just as nowadays. Scottish fifteenth-century legislation shows a similar blurring, but in the opposite direction…
Twilight Tours at the Tower of London!
A review of the Twilight Tour at the Tower of London!
Medieval Poison Ring discovered in Bulgaria
Bulgarian archaeologists have discovered a medieval ring that had a secret compartment which could have been used to conceal poison.
Ordeals
No one alive today believes ordeals were a good way to decide defendants’ guilt. But maybe they should.
Medieval Animal Trials
Why were animals put on trial – for murder or for eating crops – in the Middle Ages?
INTERVIEW: Author Tinney Sue Heath
In late July, I posted a book review on, “A Thing Done”, by Tinney Sue Heath. The book explores the fantastic world of Italian medieval vendetta during the thirteenth century. Here is my interview with this talented and accomplished author.
Abduction and power in late medieval England : petitions to the Court of Chancery, 1389-1515
This study examines fifty petitions sent to the Court of Chancery between 1389 and 1515 that relate to abduction.
A Cell of their Own: The Incarceration of Women in Late Medieval Italy
I will then move to sketch the social profile of female inmates, mainly drawing on the records of Le Stinche, the Florentine municipal prison, during its first century of activity, circa 1300–1400.
The Protocol of Vengeance in Viking-age Scandinavia
Violence, even murder, perpetuated this cycle of revenge. This code of retribution can be broken down further into the following dimensions: the individuals involved, the appropriate actions as deemed by Viking society, and any extenuating circumstances, such as supernatural strength or the wronged party’s reluctance to seek revenge.
Crime and Punishment in Early Irish Law
Is it possible to tell from the information we have if hanging entered the laws due to the influence of the Church and biblical law, or if it existed as a punishment before the rise of the Church’s influence?
Women on Trial: Piecing Together Women’s Intellectual Worlds from Courtroom Testimony
To tease out these issues, I would like to offer an analysis of a specific set of criminal records from the city of Toulouse in the later Middle Ages. In recent years, many scholars have attempted to gain access to the lives of women in medieval Languedoc.