A potent criticism of sanctuary in the precincts of religious houses was that those precincts became dens of thieves. Though no doubt exaggerated as a general characterization of sanctuary precincts, it was true in some cases. Here are some who seem to have made Westminster Abbey their base for further crime. In Oct 1520, fourContinue reading “Den of thieves”
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State visits, royal largesse, and exclusions from mercy
In May 1522, Emperor Charles V visited England. State visits are always an opportunity to showcase the ruler’s brand both domestically and internationally, and the emperor’s stay in England prompted a lavish series of pageants and demonstrations of regal power. As the Emperor Charles and Henry VIII ceremonially processed through the streets on the southContinue reading “State visits, royal largesse, and exclusions from mercy”
Refusal to surrender: An abjurer in Cambridgeshire
A twist on what looks like an ordinary enough sanctuary-taking at a parish church in Norfolk. In 1522, Giles Bryggeman, a brewer of Chippenham, Cambridgeshire, took the parish church of Catton. A week later, the coroner came – and here’s where things diverge from the normal pattern: the coroner’s memorandum says that the coroner stoodContinue reading “Refusal to surrender: An abjurer in Cambridgeshire”
Violence in Croydon, 1523
In 1523, William Wyld, a landlord in Croydon, employed local labourer Nicholas Drakes as his rent-collector. On 10 November around 9 in the morning, Drakes showed up at the door of the Storer family. The Storers’ rent was overdue and Drakes asked the household head, William Storer the elder, to pay up. Storer refused, DrakesContinue reading “Violence in Croydon, 1523”
Prostitution, jurisdiction, and sanctuary
Both prostitution and sanctuary for felons thrived in situations of contested jurisdiction, but there is relatively little evidence that they flourished in the same places. This case proves this rule. In 1523, Elizabeth Troublefeld alias Vaughan, said to live in the precinct of St Martin le Grand, was arrested at the order of the localContinue reading “Prostitution, jurisdiction, and sanctuary”
Two sides to a story
In late August 1524, two husbandmen of Worth in Kent quarrelled, and one ended up dead. Two different versions of this homicide were presented in court when the case came up for trial: one laying guilt on the perpetrator, the other on the victim. When a coroner’s inquest was convened over the body of EdwardContinue reading “Two sides to a story”
Cromwell, an Easterling, and Arras tapestries
In 1524 a Hanseatic merchant or “Easterling” petitioned one Thomas Cromwell, then a relatively obscure “jobbing lawyer” (as MacCulloch calls him), but who’d just entered into the service of Cardinal Wolsey. The merchant, Edward Smyttyng, was “privileaged within the Sanctuarye of Sainte Peter of Westminster” – he doesn’t say why he was in sanctuary, butContinue reading “Cromwell, an Easterling, and Arras tapestries”
Shifting sands
Thomas Stathom, a London vintner, took sanctuary in 1525 in the London church of St Sepulchre, confessed to a theft, abjured, and (theoretically) went into exile. Four months later he was arrested in London, clearly not having actually left the kingdom. He thought he had other mitigations up his sleeve, but as it turned outContinue reading “Shifting sands”
A “certificate of persons within St Martin’s sanctuary,” 1525
In 1525 – probably as a result of a fact-finding mission directed by the king’s right-hand man Cardinal Wolsey – a “certificate” of the “persons within St Martin’s sanctuary” was drawn up. This is a fascinating snapshot of 1520s sanctuary seekers. There were 12 people listed, 11 men, 1 woman. In another post I lookedContinue reading “A “certificate of persons within St Martin’s sanctuary,” 1525″
Poaching in the king’s deer park
Though we often think of deer-poaching as a medieval thing, Henry VIII still kept deer parks where only he and his companions could hunt. In 1526, an altercation between the king’s gamekeeper and a poacher ended in the poacher’s death. One day in late May, yeoman Thomas Otefeld of Narborough, Leicestershire, entered the Chase ofContinue reading “Poaching in the king’s deer park”
Sanctuary Seekers in England, 1394-1557 