Violence and Affray in Herefordshire During the Early Tudor Period (1485-1547)
Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club, Vol. 54, p. 51, 2006
Georgia State University College of Law, Legal Studies Research Paper
20 Pages Posted: 15 Sep 2011 Last revised: 10 Feb 2012
Date Written: 2006
Abstract
The traditional view of the Welsh Marches as being lawless lands inhabited by culturally degenerate people fits uneasily with the picture provided by legal records concerning early Tudor Herefordshire. Analysis of legal documents about violence in Herefordshire between 1485-1547 drawn from a variety of courts (village courts, city courts, county court, the court of King’s Bench, the Star Chamber, ecclesiastical courts) reveals fascinating insights into socio-economic and gender regulation within the county. Motives for violence in early Tudor Herefordshire, like violence perpetrated in lowland England, revolved around five general areas which often overlapped: land, money, honour, reputation and grudges.
Keywords: England, legal history, english legal history, King's Bench, Star Chamber, Britain, Tudor, Herefordshire, violence, Welsh Marches
JEL Classification: K00, K49
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation