Crime and Conflict in English Communities 1300-1348 Crime and Conflict in English Communities 1300-1348 Barbara A. Hanawalt Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England 1979 Copyright © 1979 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Hanawalt, Barbara Crime and Conflict in English Communities, 1300-1348 Bibliography: Includes index. 1. Crime and criminals—England—History—Sources. 2. Criminal statistics—England. 3. Great Britain —History—14th century. I. Title. HV6949.E5H35 364'.942 79-1211 ISBN 0-674-17580-8 Preface I undertook this study with the same aims as any crime writer; I wanted to know who committed the crimes. But I was not content with knowing about a few flashy cases or well-known villains. I wanted to know about the participation of ordinary people in criminal activities. I set out to discover what types of crimes villagers committed, what goods they stole, the seasons and techniques of their crimes, the identity of the victims and the accused and their interrelationships, and the motivations for the crimes. The fourteenth century was full of calamities that might have influenced the pattern of crime: the Great Famine of 1315-1317, the Hundred Years' War, the Black Death, the alleged torture of Edward II and the coup d'état of Edward III, and the Peasant Revolt of 1381. I also sought to investigate how the dynamics of interpersonal relations within the family and the village community influenced the participants in criminal actions. And, finally, I would have liked to have found the historical Robin Hood. In the course of my research, I have met a number of enjoyable and helpful people and have read a great deal of fine history. My first debt of gratitude is to the many historians who have found the fourteenth century as fascinating as I do and who have written excellent studies on the administrative, legal, political, economic, and social history of the period. It is because of this extensive background literature that I was able to write a book about the social history of crime in late medieval England. Sylvia L. Thrupp merits special thanks for having proposed the topic to me. It proved to be such a stimulating subject that I went on doing research and writing on it through the dis­ couragements of periods of underemployment and unemployment. I v Preface feel especially fortunate in having had encouragement from my undergraduate professors, Peter Charanis and Margaret Hastings, as well as my graduate professor in pursuing social history when it was not yet fashionable. The staff of the Public Record Office in London was very courteous in the years I worked there. C. A. F. Meekings was especially generous in explaining the gaol delivery rolls to me and allowing me to use his own unpublished guide to the rolls. (I have retained the English spelling for "gaol" rather than Americanizing it :o "jail.") J. Ambrose Raftis made an enormous contribution to my study by permitting me to use the Ramsey Abbey village recon­ stitution materials in the Regional Data Bank at the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto. Being able to trace a group of sus­ pects and victims in their village setting changed my whole perception of fourteenth-century crime. I felt that I could understand the participants in crime as human beings and not just as numbers. I am very grateful to the people who helped me to make sense of the criminal statistics I compiled and who read my manuscript. Alan Abrahamse aided me throughout the project with advice on its quantitative aspects. Thomas Browder and Annette Koren helped me to computerize the data. I was fortunate to have their aid. Three criminologists gave me good insights into the final analysis of my results: James Short, Austin T. Turk, and Sheldon Messinger. I very much appreciate the criticisms that Charles Tilly gave me on the completed manuscript and also those of my inspiring colleague, Norman J. G. Pounds, who also provided the map. I am grateful for permission to reprint here material that I originally presented in the following journal articles: "Economic Influences on the Pattern of Crime in England, 1300-1348," American Journal of Legal History 18 (1974): 281-297; "The Peasant Family and Crime in Fourteenth-Century England," The Journal of British Studies 13 (1974): 1-18; "Community Conflict and Social Control: Crime and Justice in the Ramsey Abbey Villages," Medieval Studies 39 (1977): 402-423; "Violent Death in Fourteenth- and Early Fifteenth-Century England," Comparative Studies in Society and History 18 (July 1978): 297-320. I was aided in the completion of the project by a number o: fellowships and grants that permitted me to travel to England anc Toronto, to microfilm gaol delivery rolls and coroners' rolls, and tc study criminology. The Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the University of Michigan, and the American Association of University Women all vi Preface helped me to do the initial years of research and writing in London. A Penrose Fund grant from the American Philosophical Society permit­ ted me to make a subsequent trip to the Public Record Office to order microfilm. J. Ambrose Raftis kindly helped along my research in Toronto through his Canada Council Grant. The American Council of Learned Societies awarded me a study fellowship for a year so that I could study criminology and quantitative methods. Indiana University was very generous in aiding the completion of the project with a grant-in-aid for research and unlimited computer time. These fellowships and grants were all deeply appreciated not only for the financial support but also for the confidence that they showed in my research. Writing a book is often elating and often discouraging; it could not be accomplished without a number of good friends and family to help the author along. My debts to friends are too numerous to list; I only hope that I have returned some of the comfort and support they have given to me. John and Vicky Bradley, close friends and neighbors in London, provided me with a cheerful place to stay and good conver­ sation while I was doing research. Both my parents encouraged my studies and contributed to my intellectual appreciation for my subject matter. My interest in the social dynamics of rural villages stems from time spent during my childhood in my father's birthplace in Pennsylvania. My interest in medieval English history I owe to my mother. Pearl Basset Hanawalt, who read me books on medieval sub­ jects and told me about my medieval English ancestors. The most appropriate dedication of the book is to my mother and to these ancestors. My forebears helped to people the book both as judges and as criminals. Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 The Social and Judicial Context of Fourteenth- Century Crime 19 3 The Crimes: Definitions, Patterns, and Tech­ niques 64 4 The Suspects 114 5 The Relationship between the Victim and the Accused 151 6 Criminal Associations and Professional Crime 184 7 External Influences on the Pattern of Crime 222 8 The Impact of Crime on Fourteenth-Century Rural Society 261 Appendix A. The Problem of Missing Deliveries 275 Appendix B. Influence of the Determining Powers of the Keepers of the Peace on the Volume of Cases in Gaol Delivery 278 Appendix C. Influences of Changes in Law En­ forcement Procedures on the Volume of Cases in Gaol Delivery 281 Appendix D. Judicial Lag 284 Notes 285 Bibliography 325 Index 345