Oxford students were the most lethal and crimson of all the contemporary social and professional groups in medieval Oxford , London , and York , newfangled enquiry suggests .
A digital single-valued function project chair by Cambridge’sViolence Research Centrehas diagram criminal offense scene location from three of medieval England ’s largest city . TheMedieval Murder Mapsproject draw on fourteenth - C medical examiner inquest reports to reconstruct an image of murder and sudden deaths in these thriving gothic city . The function also plots the location of sanctuary churches – where fugitive were meant to be immune to arrest – and medieval prisons .
During this period , coroner ’s report serve as a form of catalog for sudden or unusual last that were determined by a panel of local townsfolk . Although nowhere about as detailed and “ objective ” as today ’s inquests , these document carry selective information like names , locations , the nature of the event , and even the value of the slaying weapons .
The datum was provide by the Historic Towns Trust , which allow the research worker to make a street telamon of 354 homicide across all three city . According to their termination , the per capita homicide pace in Oxford was about 4 - 5 times gamy than either latemedievalLondon or York . This is a surprisingly high flesh , so what was different about this city ?
Well , among the perpetrators with backgrounds identify by the coroner reports , 75 percent were “ clericus ” , as were 72 percentage of all Oxford ’s slaying victims . “ Clericus ” most belike refers to a scholar or member of the university at the time .
" A medieval university city such as Oxford had a pernicious mix of circumstance , " Professor Manuel Eisner , slaying single-valued function researcher and Director of Cambridge ’s Institute of Criminology , said in astatement .
" Oxford students were all male and typically aged between 14 and 21 , the peak for wildness and peril - pickings . These were young hands absolve from tight controls of family , parish or guild , and thrust into an environment full of weapons , with ample access to alehouses and sex workers . "
Importantly , in addition to the clank between “ town and gown ” , as Eisner calls it , Oxford students belong to regional fraternities called “ nations ” which , as with many militant bookman fraternities today , were a source of conflict .
The Medieval Murder Maps platform allows user to research and look into patterns of violence in these key medieval cities . The site provides an interactive map that captures spirit ( and death ) at a metre when metropolis like York were experiencing a “ favorable geezerhood ” as they recovered from theBlack Death . Dozens of the recorded inquest reports are available in audio frame , so users can listen to the details of the more challenging cases .
" When a suspected execution victim was discovered in late medieval England the coroner would be sought , and the local bailiff would gather a jury to investigate , " Eisner explained .
" A typical jury consist of local men of good repute . Their undertaking was to establish the course of action of events by take heed witnesses , assessing any evidence , and then identify a suspect . The indictment were summarised by the coroner ’s scribe . "
touchstone and procedures for inquire crimes were extremely different to today . At the prison term , the methods used were a dim mix between detective work and rumor - hunting . Despite the emphasis on “ good character ” as the ground for panel selection , there were plenty of opportunity for somebody to influence decisions towards a “ ego - defense ” verdict by create untrue story .
" We do not have any evidence to show juries willfully lie , but many inquest will have been a ' best guess ' base on uncommitted information , " explicate Cambridge historiographer and co - research worker Dr Stephanie Brown . " In many instances , it is likely the panel named the good defendant , in others it may be a vitrine of two plus two rival five . "
fit in to their finding , medieval Oxford experienced a rate of around 60 - 75 homicides per 100,000 . This is about 50 times high than the situation in English metropolis today . The commixture between hot - head young mankind andalcoholseems to be the main cause of this propensity toward violence .
One particularly flaming result occurred in 1298 , when an line broke out between students in a gamy street tap house one Thursday night . A aggregated street brawl erupt with swords and battle - axes . Among the victim was one bookman called John Burel , who brook “ a mortal wound on the crown of his heading , six inches long and in profundity reach to the brain . "
In another incident in 1299 , a scholarly person got away with execution after he stabbed a sex proletarian to last before fly the scene . It turns out he prefer to kill the woman rather than pay what he owe her .
The cases recorded by the project also shine light on social tautness as well as responsibility within local communities . There is sufficient evidence to show hostility between scholarly person from dissimilar regions , withviolencebetween scholar from southerly and northerly England , as well as those from Ireland or Wales .
In addition , those among the victim of aggression were the serviceman who set about to “ keep the king ’s peacefulness ” and responded to the hue and cry that draw attention to offence .
Eisner added , " Circumstances that frequently leave to force will be conversant to us today , such as youthful men with group affiliation pursue sex and alcohol during periods of leisure time on the weekends . Weapons were never far away , and male honor had to be protected . "
" life history in medieval urban center could be rough , but it was by no agency lawless . The community of interests understood their rights and used the legal philosophy when conflicts emerged . Each case provides a glimpse of the dynamics that created a burst of violence on a street in England some seven century ago . "
