Not my area of expertise (again), but I do know that many types of criminal cases were handled in the Assize Courts, and action was often initiated on the basis of someone swearing a complaint. There was no regular police force prior to the early nineteenth century, so most "policing" was done by the populace itself. Person A showed up at court on the day when it met, swore out a complaint against Person B, and the sheriff or justice of the peace or other authorities summoned the person to court to face the charges (a vastly over-simplified explanation, but it's a starting point).
I can think of two good books related to the topic, right off the top of my head:
Laura Gowing, Domestic Dangers: Women, Words, and Sex in Early Modern London, which deals with women assaulting each other (or assaulting men) and ending up in court. It contains a good explanation of how people enforced domestic violence laws in the absence of a formal police force.
Marjorie Keniston McIntosh, Controlling Misbehavior in England, 1300-1600, also deals with the subject, but does so across a much broader spectrum of legal offenses. Caution: the book is a bit dense and dry ... it is intended for academics, but you might still find it useful if your library can get it for you.
Not my area of expertise (again), but I do know that many types of criminal cases were handled in the Assize Courts, and action was often initiated on the basis of someone swearing a complaint. There was no regular police force prior to the early nineteenth century, so most "policing" was done by the populace itself. Person A showed up at court on the day when it met, swore out a complaint against Person B, and the sheriff or justice of the peace or other authorities summoned the person to court to face the charges (a vastly over-simplified explanation, but it's a starting point).
ReplyDeleteI can think of two good books related to the topic, right off the top of my head:
Laura Gowing, Domestic Dangers: Women, Words, and Sex in Early Modern London, which deals with women assaulting each other (or assaulting men) and ending up in court. It contains a good explanation of how people enforced domestic violence laws in the absence of a formal police force.
Marjorie Keniston McIntosh, Controlling Misbehavior in England, 1300-1600, also deals with the subject, but does so across a much broader spectrum of legal offenses. Caution: the book is a bit dense and dry ... it is intended for academics, but you might still find it useful if your library can get it for you.