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This book provides an introduction to the English legal system and its development during the period c 1215-1485. It affords a valuable insight into the character of medieval governance as well as revealing the complex nexus of interests, attitudes and relationships prevailing in society during the later Middle Ages. The book considers the theoretical and ideological aspects of medieval law and justice, examining the concepts and discourses to be found in official and non-official circles. It concentrates on manifestations of crime and disorder and the royal response to this in the form of the development of judicial institutions. The book then looks at the dispensation of justice both inside and outside the courtroom. It examines in detail the machinery and functioning of criminal justice both in the royal courts and in those autonomous areas exercising delegated powers. The book also considers the use of extra-judicial methods, such as arbitration and 'self-help', to illustrate the interaction of formal and informal methods of dispute settlement. It focuses on the personnel of justice, the justices of the central courts and the local officials who carried out the day-to-day administrative tasks. The smooth and successful operation of the judicial system was challenged and sometimes hindered by the existence of corrupt practices and abuse of its procedures.
material and point the way towards further avenues is thus long overdue. 7 This book provides an introduction to the English legal system and its development during the period c 1215-1485. The opening section considers the theoretical and ideological aspects of medieval law and justice, examining (in Chapters 1 and 2 respectively) the concepts and discourses to be found in official and non
boroughs’, in W. J. Turner (ed.), Madness in Medieval Law and Custom , Leiden, 2010, pp. 17–39. 25 Lady Godiva. 26 When he was mayor, in 1494. 27 The restriction on
, pp. 341–50, 359–61; H. G. Hanbury ‘The legislation of Richard III’, AJLH , 6 (1962), 95–113. 21 N. Saul, Richard II (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1997), pp. 366–404; A. Harding, Medieval Law and the Foundations of the State (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 263
’, JLH , 6 (1985), pp. 65–7, 74–6. 4 Year Books of Edward III: 14 and 15 Edward III , ed. L. O. Pike (London, RS, 1889), pp. 258–63; Musson, Medieval Law , pp. 57–9. 5 Maddicott, Law and Lordship , pp. 40
the procedure of courts also changed over time. 68 Generalisations are thus hazardous, but some observations may be offered. Medieval law distinguished between the most serious offences, including homicide, arson, rape, robbery, and grand larceny (i.e. theft of goods valued in excess of a shilling [12 d = 5p]), which were normally classed as felonies, and other lesser
–6; A. Musson, ‘Appealing to the past: perceptions of law in late medieval England’, in Expectations , ed. Musson, p. 174. 9 Crook, ‘Later eyres’, pp. 241–43; Musson, Medieval Law , pp. 137–45. 10 A. Harding, ‘Early trailbaston proceedings
. 23 Musson, Medieval Law , pp. 244–6. 24 Ormrod, Political Life , p. 63; R. W. Kaeuper, Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 113–18; W. M. Ormrod, ‘Law in the landscape: criminality, outlawry and regional identity
). 6 See Chapter 4 (at 4.2 , 4.6 ). 7 Musson, Medieval Law , pp. 150–51. 8 J. A. Yunck, The Lineage of Lady Meed: The Development of Medieval Venality Satire (Notre Dame, IN, University of Notre Dame Press, 1963
. Duggan, ‘Ralf de Diceto, Henry II and Becket’, in Authority and Power: Studies on Medieval Law and Government in Honour of Walter Ullmann , eds B. Tierney and P. Linehan (Cambridge, 1980), pp. 59–81, repr. Charles Duggan, Canon Law in Medieval England (Variorum Reprints, 1982). 117