Much of our (scant) knowledge of sanctuary at Westminster Abbey during the reign of Mary I comes from the diary of London citizen Henry Machyn, who recorded notable events in his tumultuous lifetime. Machyn had several entries related to a gentry feud in far-away Yorkshire between the West and Darcy families. First, on 25 MayContinue reading “Henry Machyn, George Darcy, and sanctuary in the 1550s”
Tag Archives: Homicide
A bookseller’s slaying
On 6 November 1556, a coroner’s inquest convened over the body of John Obett of Westminster, accidentally killed in a silly quarrel with a schoolboy. Obett had a stall near Westminster Hall where he sold maps, charts, and books. At 11am a group of schoolboys came out from the “common school of the city ofContinue reading “A bookseller’s slaying”
Sanctuary Seekers in England, 1394-1557 