Crime and Plague: England c.1340-c.1360

Throughout history, there has been a link between epidemic disease and increased criminal activity. Despite this, the
Black Death, potentially the greatest disaster prior to the twentieth century has been understudied in terms of crime. I
would like to discover if there was an increase in crime during the Black Death in 1348-50, and in the second pestilence
of 1361. I have chosen the period c.1340-c.1360 as it offers a picture of crime before, after and during the epidemics.
However, it ensures that my research is not spread too thinly and that I am able to consider a number of different courts.
There is a gap in the historiography on late medieval crime. I have a wealth of primary sources: firstly, the gaol delivery
rolls who heard all cases of people in prison awaiting trial, secondly the pleas from the King's Bench, which was the
premier criminal court, and finally, the local, manorial court records who dealt with minor crimes. Barbara Hanawalt has
completed a similar study for the early fourteenth century but has received criticism as her work was limited to the gaol
delivery rolls. This topic is a progression from my MPhil research, which is looking at law and order during the Black
Death. Therefore, I have a sound grasp of period, methodology, historiography and the relevant sources. I would like to
continue under the supervision of Dr Christopher Briggs and would welcome collaboration with the Centre for English
Legal History as my work falls within its remit