shannonmcsheffrey

“For succour of his life”: John Amadas and Tavistock Abbey

Even in the sixteenth century, monasteries could still figure as places of safety from enemies intent on harm; this case didn’t involve sanctuary in the technical English legal sense, though with the same rhetoric of holy asylum and protection of life. In 1529, John Amadas, a prominent gentleman of Tavistock, Devon, who’d sat as MPContinue reading ““For succour of his life”: John Amadas and Tavistock Abbey”

Bull and Roo: Affirmation of sanctuary at King’s Bench

Two burglars manipulated sanctuary in the early 1530s and the result was something of a surprise: the justices at King’s Bench affirmed the right of felons to take sanctuary – even when they were trying to cheat the system. In May 1530, Maurice Bull & Nicholas Roo, both yeomen of Westminster, appeared before the courtContinue reading “Bull and Roo: Affirmation of sanctuary at King’s Bench”

Abjuration, new style: the 1531 sanctuary statute

In 1531, a new statute changed how abjuration of the realm worked: henceforth abjurers were to proceed from sanctuary in a parish church to a chartered sanctuary, rather than into exile. It was a bit confusing at first. The new statute came into effect on 31 March 1531 but some must have known about theContinue reading “Abjuration, new style: the 1531 sanctuary statute”

The Southwell-Pennington feud

On 20 April 1532, near the king’s palace at Westminster, two gentlemen, Richard Southwell, esquire, and Sir William Pennington, faced one another in a sword fight, a quarrel that ended in Pennington’s death. The slaying came at a sensitive time in Henry VIII’s reign: much attention was focused that spring on ‘the King’s Great Matter’,Continue reading “The Southwell-Pennington feud”

Managing a murder indictment

This case, abounding with mysteries, ironies, secrets, and manipulations, is perfect as the germ for a novel. On 3 March 1532, gentleman Robert Woode of Abingdon, Berks, met with a clerk named John Mable in the “great chamber” of the abbot of St Mary’s Abbey in Abingdon. Let’s assume that the abbot was there, too,Continue reading “Managing a murder indictment”

Corruption and extortion in the Westminster sanctuary

Around 1550 an elderly landowner named Alexander Frognall launched a legal complaint about a situation concerning his son, Thomas, who had taken sanctuary around 1531. Frognall Sr’s narrative has two villains – Thomas Cromwell & the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt – who (allegedly) corruptly extorted land from his vulnerable son. In Alexander Frognall’s petition toContinue reading “Corruption and extortion in the Westminster sanctuary”

The “privileged men” of Westminster: the 1532 and 1533 censuses

A spotlight on two fascinating but somewhat perplexing sanctuary documents: lists of the “names of all the privileged men” in the sanctuary at Westminster Abbey, one (incomplete) drawn up in 1532 and another in 1533. Between the two lists, 119 people were named, 116 men & 3 women. The complete 1533 list (which has 89Continue reading “The “privileged men” of Westminster: the 1532 and 1533 censuses”

Murder in the Welsh marches

In September 1532, George ap Mathewe Gogh, along with 9 other men, murdered one Roger Lloyd at Welshpool in the Welsh marches. A few months later he sought sanctuary at Westminster. When the census of those privileged of the sanctuary was taken on 1 June 1533, he was listed (“George a Mata Gowghe”) as havingContinue reading “Murder in the Welsh marches”

A serjeant of the mace slain

On 4 March 1533, John Ode alias Wode, serjeant of the mace (one of the London sheriffs’ officers) had an altercation with George Cornwall, a young Hereford gentleman known for his unruly life. Though the records don’t say so, it seems quite likely that their quarrel had something to do with Ode’s job, which includedContinue reading “A serjeant of the mace slain”

Murder on the Thames: John and Alice Wolfe

In mid-July 1533, Cologne merchant and gunpowder-maker John Wolfe and his wife Alice Wolfe led a group of co-conspirators in the heinous murder of two Italian merchants on a boat in the Thames. The home base for their elaborate plot was the sanctuary precinct at Westminster: John Wolfe was registered there as a debtor andContinue reading “Murder on the Thames: John and Alice Wolfe”