Medieval Violence The middle ages in England were a pretty violent place viewed from a modern perspective. Even today statistically most crime is carried out by males on males under the age of 25. A study of coroners rolls from the 1340’s suggests a homicide rate of 120 per 100,000 of the population in Oxford. […]
Category archives: Medieval
Medieval Seals
Medieval Seals I’ve had a few questions about the medieval seal depicted on my upcoming book, “Death of The Official”. The image on the left depicts the impression made by William Blackburne’s seal matrix. William is an official of the bishop of Draychester and the Latin inscription reflects this. The status of the seals owner […]
Medieval Bridge Chapels and Bridge Hermits
Medieval Bridge Chapels and Bridge Hermits In one of my upcoming books “The Death of the Official” Sir Roger Mudstone has an unfortunate encounter with a hermit collecting a toll on a bridge crossing a river. In the late medieval period it was fairly common for bridges to have all manor of buildings built on […]
Medieval Sanctuary
Medieval Sanctuary In my upcoming book, “The Death of the Vintner”, two brothers sought for the murder of their father seek sanctuary in the cathedral at Saint Davids in West Wales. This was a crime that would likely result in execution. The alternative sought by many who committed capital crimes was to seek the protection […]