TV shows like Game of Thrones lead us to believe that the medieval world was an extraordinarily violent era, in which no one was held accountable for their crimes. How accurate is that perception? In this talk, we will examine crime and punishment in the Middle Ages and talk about why people today want to believe the medieval world was so violent. Murder was not committed with impunity in the Middle Ages. Those who committed murder were caught and punished, although not always as we might expect. Catching criminals in an era before forensics and police forces was not easy. This talk will analyze how medieval communities worked together to catch murderers, and in doing so we'll touch on the foundations of the modern legal system, including: the medieval coroner and his inquest jury, the sheriff and his posse, trial by ordeal, and the origins of the trial jury.
This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you kindly RSVP using the form below. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis.
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Sara M. Butler is the King George III Professor in British History at The Ohio State University. Her books include: The Language of Abuse: Marital Violence in Later Medieval England (2007), Divorce in Medieval England: From One to Two Persons at Law (2013), Forensic Medicine and Death Investigation in Medieval England (2016), and Pain, Penance and Protest: Peine Forte et Dure in Medieval England (2022). She is the co-founder and regular contributor to the blog Legal History Miscellany. Her current project is on malicious accusations of homicide in thirteenth-century England.
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Science Sundays is a free lecture series open to the public that provides a wide range of current and emerging topics and issues in science that touch our everyday lives. Speakers are experts in their fields from on campus and around the world with experience in making their topics interesting and accessible for audiences of all ages, with or without a science background.
Each lecture is followed by a free, informal reception from 4-5 p.m. at the Ohio Staters Traditions Room in the Ohio Union.
If you have questions about accessibility or wish to request an accommodation for a disability please contact John Beacom (beacom.7@osu.edu; 614-247-8102). With advance notice of two weeks, we can generally provide seamless access.
