The Criminal Trial in Later Medieval England

Book excerpt: This book represents the first full-length study of the English criminal trial in a crucial period of its development (1300-1550). Based on prime source material, The Criminal Trial in Later Medieval England uses legal treatises, contemporary reports of instructive cases, chancery rolls, state papers and court files and rolls to reconstruct the criminal trial in the later medieval and early Tudor periods. There is particular emphasis on the accusation process (studied in depth here for the first time, showing how it was, in effect, a trial within a trial); the discovery of a veritable revolution in conviction rates between the early fifteenth century and the later sixteenth (why this revolution occurred is explained in detail); the nature and scope of the most prevalent types of felony in the period; and the startling contrast between the conviction rate and the frequency of actual punishment. The role of victims, witnesses, evidence, jurors, justices and investigative techniques are analysed. John Bellamy is one of the foremost scholars in the field of English criminal justice and in The Criminal Trial in Later Medieval England gives a masterful account of what the medieval legal process involved. He guides the reader carefully through the maze of disputed and controversial issues, and makes clear to the non-specialist why these disputes exist and what their importance is for a fuller understanding of medieval criminal law. Those with a special interest in medieval law, as well as all those interested in how society deals with crime, will appreciate Professor Bellamy's clarity and wisdom and his careful blend of critical overview and new insights.