Crime In Medieval Europe

In this ambitious history of lawlessness and legal retribution in medieval Europe, Trevor Dean ranges widely across the continent - and Britain. He uses court records to illuminate the lives of ordinary men and women, who often found themselves at the sharp end of the law. What is the difference between a stabbing in a tavern in London and one in a hostelry in the South of France? What happened when a spinster living in Paris found a knight in her bedroom wanting to marry her? Why was there a crime wave following the Black Death? In this ambitious history of crime in medieval Europe, Trevor Dean ranges widely across Britain and Europe to provide an exciting account of lawlessness and criminal justice. Trevor Dean is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Surrey, Roehampton. His previous publications include the books Crime, Society and the Law in Renaissance Italy (co-edited with Kate Lowe, 1994) and Clean Hands and Rough Justice: An Investigating Magistrate in Renaissance Italy (co-written with David Chambers, 1997). What is the difference between a stabbing in a tavern in London and one in a hostelry in the South of France? What happens when a spinster living in Paris finds knight in her bedroom wanting to marry her? Why was there a crime wave following the Black Death? From Aberdeen to Cracow and from Stockholm to Sardinia, Trevor Dean ranges widely throughout medieval Europe in this exiting and innovative history of lawlessness and criminal justice. Drawing on the real-life stories of ordinary men and women who often found themselves at the sharp end of the law, he shows how it was often one rule for the rich and another for the poor in a tangled web of judicial corruption.