Historian tracks the medieval origins of our modern-day legal system
The right to defend oneself in front of a judge is but one of many legal principles that originate from medieval canon law.
The Grand Jury: The Medieval and the Modern
What is a grand jury, and how did this institution—originally designed as a check to rampant, unjust state power—come under the dominion of prosecutors and police?
Case of facial mutilation discovered from early medieval England
An early medieval skull found in southern England has revealed a young woman who had her nose and lips cut off and may also have been scalped. This is the first archaeological example of facial mutilation from this period.
Robin Hood – The Man, The Myth, and The History – Part 2: The Outlaws of Medieval England
14th century English outlaw was vastly more violent and cruel than the myths would have us believe
Medieval Scandinavia: Assemblies, Law-Giving and Language
In this feature on the Medieval Scandinavia series, Beñat Elortza Larrea discusses law assemblies, legislation, and how legal terminology can be tricky from a researcher’s perspective.
Sex in the Not-City: Bad Behavior in the Medieval English Village
Why was the policing of sexual relationships in these medieval communities thought to be necessary in the first place?
The Sheriff Solution: Medieval Law Enforcement for a Modern World
The Metropolitan Police Service – the first modern police force – was only created in London in 1829. So what were the structures in place for keeping order before that?
Why the Charter of the Forest was important for Medieval England
The Charter of the Forest was the first major expression of the rulings of Magna Carta in a practical sense.
Byzantine Jewellery: The Evidence from Byzantine Legal Documents
In the field of Byzantine jewellery studies the usefulness of this approach was demonstrated, over 20 years ago, by the work of Hetherington on the ownership and distribution of Byzantine enamels.
Sanctuary with Shannon McSheffrey
In the Middle Ages, a person could claim sanctuary to delay or avoid punishment for a serious crime. But what were the rules? This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle interviews Dr. Shannon McSheffrey to find out how and why medieval people sought sanctuary, and whether or not a convicted heretic could expect the church to save his life.
Vi et Armis: Londoners and Violent Trespass Before the Common Pleas in the Fifteenth Century
The Londoners who entered pleadings in this court between 1405 and 1415 have left a fascinating glimpse into both interpersonal violence and the world of savvy litigators.
More than Mothers: Juries of Matrons and Pleas of the Belly in Medieval England
Common law was an all-male system, with one glaring exception: juries of matrons.
Prisons and Punishments in Late Medieval London
In the history of crime and punishment the prisons of medieval London have generally been overlooked.
The Standing Contest between King Charles and Redbad
Can win a medieval kingdom by being able to stand very still (and with just a little bit of scheming)?
How Medieval Europe thought of Justice
It was in this division of earthly and spiritual justice that the very notion itself encountered its first major challenge as an institution in medieval society.
Criminalising Animals in Medieval France: Insights from Records of Executions
This article explores compelling and specific cases from France during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in which animals were formally executed for crimes.
Wages of sin: The financial operations of a medieval church court
An overwhelming number of the criminal charges made in the Consistory from the second half of the fourteenth century until the last quarter of the fifteenth, the period for which records are most complete, were sexual in nature.
Familia inquisitionis: a study on the inquisitors’ entourage (XIII-XIV centuries)
It is inquisitors that sell, these days: marketing builds upon visual imagination and curiosity, but is also driven by some sort of fascination with these controversial and ultimately incomprehensible individuals who pursued religious non-conformity as a crime.
An Annotated Edition and Translation of The Older Law of Västergötland: The Rightless Code
The Older Law of Västergötland is the oldest surviving text in Old Swedish and marks the beginning of parchment manuscripts written in the vernacular in Sweden.
Proving Facts in Njáls saga
Clover uncovers the seemingly inadequate evidence-finding process in Njáls saga and discusses how the legal process can be transmitted to the saga’s narrative structure.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Medieval “Judicial Revolution”
During the early medieval era, judicial power and authority – the right and ability to adjudicate legal disputes and enforce the law – had hemorrhaged from the public authorities of the Carolingian empire into the hands first of great magnates and then lesser lords.
How Law Was Taught at a Medieval University
Jason A. Brown focus on a medieval manuscript to show how law was taught in medieval universities.
Spoliation and disseisin: possession under threat and its protection before and after 1215
Each of the two great law-making events of 1215, Magna Carta and the Fourth Lateran Council, included provisions relating to dispossession (spoliation, disseisin) and how to remedy some of its previous deficiencies.
Justinian and the Corpus Iuris: An Overview
Justinian’s codification is the bridge that links Antiquity, the Byzantine Empire, and Europe. It is also the link between civil law and common law, and between canon law and civil law.