Londoners and the Law: pleadings in the court of common pleas 1399-1509
Lead Research Organisation:
University of London
Department Name: Inst of Historical Research
Abstract
The project will analyse, and make accessible over the web, information from the court of Common Pleas, one of the two great central courts of common law in late medieval England. The cases to be studied will relate to litigation involving Londoners during the period 1399-1509, and these will shed light on many aspects of the use and perception of the law, as well as Londoners' commercial and other links with the regions.
Organisations
Publications
Stevens M
(2010)
Failed Arbitrations before the Court of Common Pleas: Cases Relating to London and Londoners, 1400-1468
in The Journal of Legal History
Saul N
(2011)
Grave stuff: litigation with a London tomb-maker in 1421 Litigation with a London tomb-maker in 1421
in Historical Research
Kleineke H
(2015)
The Medicines of Katherine, Duchess of Norfolk, 1463-71.
in Medical history
Description | 1. A key outcome was a complex database that enabled us to address the key research questions posed. Each case was tagged by writ type and by our own classification - enabling us to gauge the relationship between writ type (eg. debt) and what was actually at issue in the dispute. We also categorised and tagged 'events' described, such as sales of goods, assaults, and bonds. 6,321 pleaded cases were extracted from 130 rolls for 1399-1509 and all mesne process from the Michaelmas terms of 1400, 1 |
Exploitation Route | The research findings and data will be of most use to local historians, especially those interested in the history of London. They will also be of interest to the legal profession, as the research deals with the development of the common law courts and the lawyers who practised in them. |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,,Other |
URL | http://www.history.ac.uk/projects/research/londoners-and-the-law |
Title | Londoners and the Law Database |
Description | The relational database contains information from the records of the Court of Common Pleas for the period 1399-1509, derived from the rolls (Class CP40) in The National Archives. Data from all the cases has been extracted and put online. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | The availability of the online version of the database has facilitated a great deal of new work on individual litigants and other parties in the case, as well as opening up these records for the first time. |
URL | http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=1272 |
Description | Paper given at IHR Late Medieval Seminar. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | |
Results and Impact | Information taken from Final Report |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008 |
Description | Two papers given, CMH@20 conference, IHR. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | |
Results and Impact | Information taken from Final Report |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008 |