Dr Nick Amor’s talk on Keeping the Peace in Medieval Suffolk had been rearranged several times because of the Pandemic so it was very good to finally welcome him to Wickhambrook.
The 14th century was a tumultuous one with wars against Scotland and the Peasant’s Revolt, but at that time Suffolk does not seem to have been a lawless county. Most offences were against property and the value of stolen goods was extremely low. The most likely things to be stolen were sheep, which reminds us of the importance of the wool trade at the time. During the famine of 1315-1317 those who had stolen food were usually acquitted, which shows some understanding of the desperate plight of the poor. Crime rates were higher in the summer as there were more hours of daylight and Sunday evenings were peak times for offences as that was when men usually visited the ale houses. Most crimes were perpetrated by men and homicide, very rare, carried the highest penalty.
The people were afraid of crime and its consequences as there was no professional police force, just local volunteers.
Justice was meted out locally by Justices of the Peace and this worked well. These men were gentry, often soldiers and also MPs and there were 108 in Suffolk in 1316. They tended to be related to one another or be friends and this made for a good fair system.
After the Black Death in 1348 there were fewer people around and this put peasants in a stronger position regarding their daily work and a system of multi jury men in villages made sure that the labour laws were kept.
In some areas of the country during the Peasant’s Revolt, the gentry were attacked by the rebels but not in Suffolk, which had respect for men of the law.
Suffolk stayed a peaceful place to live and work.
Nearly 700 years on, we can appreciate how our legal system evolved from medieval ideas of fairness.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday 19th April and is the AGM. This will start at the earlier time of 7pm and will be followed by ‘Half a Pound of Tuppeny Rice’ by Stephanie Prythergch-Hemphill.
Annual Subscription of £10 is due at the meeting.