By Stephanie Brown (@StephEmmaBrown)
Upon finding a dead body in medieval England, you were required to raise the alarm to alert bystanders and the authorities. Once the coroner had been notified of a violent death, they summoned an investigative jury from the village or parish where the person had died and from the three neighbouring villages or parishes. Together, the coroner and his jury would hold an inquest over the body to determine the cause of death – and, if required, name a suspect. The Institute of Criminology have used the coroners’ records to create the Medieval Murder Maps. This digital resource provides a unique insight into violence and justice in late medieval London, York, and Oxford. Each of the pins on the map shows the location of a medieval homicide. You can click on a pin to read the story based on the original record.
For example, Adam de Folyfayre discovered a body outside Micklegate Bar in York. The coroner, William de Newbury gathered men for the jury from the parishes of Holy Trinity in Micklegate, St Martin in Micklegate, St Gregory in Micklegate and St John in Micklegate. The inquest was held on Wednesday in the feast of Saint Nicholas [6 December] 1379. They ruled that this was a murder. John de Otryngton was the name of the victim. He was from York and worked as a mercer. The killing happened the day before [5 December]. He had been stabbed with two knives called baslards, which were valued at twelve pence. The jurors say on their oath that Gilbert Deye of Pikworth and his son John feloniously killed John de Otryngton. Both fled after the attack, but their horse was seized by the bailiff and valued at five shillings. The jury also say that Alice de Ripon abetted Gilbert and John with the felony as she received them at York.
Doing History in Public 