The Evolution of English Justice: Law, Politics and Society in the Fourteenth Century

260 Pages·1999·24.523 MB·English

by  Anthony Musson, W. M. Ormrod (auth.)

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THE EVOLUTION OF
ENGLISH jUSTICE
LAw,
PoLITics AND SociETY IN
THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
Anthony Musson
Barrister, the Middle Temple, and Associate oft he Centre
for Medieval Studies, University of York
and
W. M. Ormrod
Prl!ftssor of History, University of York
First published in Great Britain 1999 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-333-67671-4 ISBN 978-1-349-27004-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-27004-0
First published in the United States of America 1999 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-21748-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Musson, Anthony, 1966--
The evolution of English justice : law, politics, and society in
the fourteenth century I Anthony Musson and W.M. Ormrod.
p. em. -(British studies series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-21748-8 (cloth)
I. Law-England-History. 2. Courts-England-History.
3. Justice, Administration of-England-History. 4. Great Britain
-Politics and govemment-1066--1485. I. Ormrod, W. M., 1957-
11. Title. III. Series.
KD610.M87 1998
349.42--dc21 98-22634
CIP
©Anthony Musson and W. M. Ormrod I999
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with
written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIP 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 ()() 99
CONTENTS
Preface Vlll
List of Abbreviations lX
1 Introduction: The Evolution of English Justice 4
A Century of Revolution? 1
A Century of Evolution 4
A Palimpsest ofj urisdictions 8
Attitudes to justice 10
2 Royal Justice at the Centre 12
Structures 12
The curia regis and its offshoots 12
The court of common pleas 14
The court of king's bench 17
The council and its offshoots 20
The chancery 23
Parliament 25
Personnel 28
Education 29
Recruitment and promotion 32
Public and private service 36
Conclusion 40
3 Royal Justice in the Provinces 42
Structures 43
The general eyre 43
Assizes and gaol delivery 45
Commissions of oyer and terminer 48
Vl Contents
Keepers and justices of the peace 50
Personnel 54
Judges and serjeants of the central courts 58
Men of law 62
Landed society: gentry and magnates 68
Conclusion 73
4 External Influences on the Evolution of Justice 75
War 77
War and disorder 78
The royal response 80
The politics of war 85
Economic Crises and Popular Disturbances 89
The great famine and its aftermath 90
The plague and its aftermath 93
The Peasants' Revolt and its aftermath 96
Constitutional Conflict 101
The tyranny of Edward II and the minority of Edward III 102
The personal rule and tyranny of Richard li 106
Conclusion Ill
5 Internal Influences on the Evolution of Justice 115
'Consumer Demand' 116
Special commissions of oyer and terminer 119
The assize of novel disseisin 122
Other manifestations of 'consumer demand' 125
The inclusivity of royal justice: justice for all? 127
New methods for prosecuting crime 134
The Judicial Profession 139
Legal service 140
The fashioning of an intellectual domain 144
Legislation 146
Making and presenting parliamentary petitions 147
The translation of petitions into statutes 151
Conclusion 157
6 Conclusion: Attitudes to Justice 161
Discourses on justice 161
Didactic discourses 162
Remedial discourses 163
Contents vn
Satirical discourses 166
Polemical discourses 171
Responses to Complaint 17 5
The accessibility of the judicial system 177
The responsibilities ofj ustices, lawyers and jurors 181
Conclusion 189
Appendix: The Sessions and Itineraries of the Court of King's Bench
and Parliament, 1290-1399 194
Notes 206
Select Bibliography 239
Index 242
PREFACE
This book is intended both as an introduction to the history of English
justice in the fourteenth century and as a new interpretation of the
changes effected in the judicial system during that period. It arose from
our concern to provide an accessible description of the structure of the
royal courts in the later Middle Ages and our conviction that the
political and social context of law in the fourteenth century had yet to
be fully explored and satisfactorily explained. In the latter respect, we
were partly motivated by the significant research of Dr A. J. Verduyn,
who was originally to have joined us in co-authoring this book. While
his own commitments prevented this, his unpublished thesis and recent
articles have informed our own approach, and we are very grateful for
the positive encouragement he gave the project at the outset. We
should stress, however, that he is not responsible for the opinions
expressed here: the book would undoubtedly have been different had
he been involved in the writing of it, just as it would have been if only
one of the remaining two had undertaken to produce it.
The debts that we owe to other scholars in the field will, we hope, be
apparent from our notes and bibliography, even if we have sometimes
- and, we trust, courteously - departed from their interpretations. We
are also grateful to the undergraduate and postgraduate students at the
University of York on whom so many of our ideas have been tested, and
to all those who have coped with the complications of our respective
domestic and professional lives during the writing of this book.
lOrk ANTHONY MUSSON
MARK 0RMROD
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BIHR Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research
CCR Calendar of Close Rolls
CFR Calendar of Fine Rolls
CPR Calendar of Patent Rolls
EGW J. F. Willard, W. A Morris,]. R. Strayer and
W. H. Dunham (eds), The English Govern
ment at Work, 1327-1336 (Cambridge, MA:
Medieval Academy of America, 1940-50)
EHD, vol. 3 H. Rothwell (ed.), English Historical
Documents, 1189-1327 (London: Eyre &
Spottiswoode, 1975)
EHD, vol. 4 A. R. Myers (ed.), English Historical
Documents, 1327-1485 (London: Eyre &
Spottiswoode, 1969)
EHR English Historical Review
HMSO Her Majesty's Stationery Office
jBS journal of British Studies
LQR Law Quarterly Review
Musson, Public Order A Musson, Public Order and Law Enforce
ment: The Local Administration of Criminal
justice 1294-1350 (Woodbridge: Boydell
Press, 1996)
Palmer, English Law R. C. Palmer, English Law in the Age of the
Black Death, 1348-1381: A Transformation of
Governance and Law (Chapel Hill, NC:
University of North Carolina Press, 1993)
P&P Past and Present