Kingship, law, and society : criminal justice in the reign of Henry V

Oxford New York : Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press, 1989. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dust-wrapper. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Physical description; xi, 319 p. ; 23 cm. Notes; Includes index. Bibliography: p. 281-304. Review/s: Ralph A. Griffiths, History, Vol. 76, No. 247 (June 1991), 290-291. Contents; Abbreviations; Introduction: Towards a new constitutional history of late medieval England; Part I: Law, justice, and kingship: Concepts of law, justice, and kingship in the age of Henry V; Part II: The machinery of criminal justice in late medieval England; Royal jurisdiction over crime and the structure of the legal system; Criminal legal procedure: The workings of the courts; Law, politics, and dispute settlement in local society; Part III: The enforcement of criminal justice in the reign of Henry V: England at the accession of Henry V: the legacy of disorder; The Lollard revolt; The Leicester parliament and the Superior Eyre; The settlement of the realm, (1413-1415); Henry V's policy of reconciliation and recruitment; The administration of justice, (1415-1422): The limits of law enforcement; Conclusion; Appendix: Criminal offences brought before the King's Bench, 1414; Select Bibliography; Glossary; Index. Summary; Using the reign of Henry V as a detailed case study, this work examines crime and law enforcement in late medieval England, considering the theoretical nature of law, the framework of the courts, court procedures and the enforcement of law. The author rejects the traditional view of late medieval England as chronically lawless and violent, and emphasizes instead the structural constraints on royal power to enforce the law, and the King's dependence on the co-operation of local society for the maintenance of his peace. Public order, it is shown, relied less on the coercive powers of the courts than the arts of political management and the use of procedures for conciliation and arbitration at local level. Subjects; Henry V, King of England (1387-1422). Henry V, (1387-1422), King of England. Criminal justice, Administration of - Great Britain - History. Criminal Justice. Administration. History. 15th Century. Criminal justice, Administration of - England - History. Law - History and criticism - England. Law - England - History and criticism. Great Britain - History - Henry V, (1413-1422). Criminal justice, Administration of - Great Britain - History - To 1500. Legal history - England - 1989. England - Legal history - 1989. England - Law, history. law - England - (1000-1600). Henry V. administration of justice. legal procedure. penal sanctions. Dates covered: (1413-1422). British & Irish history: (c 500 to c 1000) ; British & Irish history: (c 1000 to c 1500) ; Social & cultural history ; Crime & criminology. England ; (c 1000 CE to c 1500). Law / Legal History. Genre; Bibliography.