My project has been centred around the people of Medieval Wakefield, which has been recorded in the Wakefield Manorial Court Rolls. These series of documents describe the local administrative and economic matters throughout the region, spanning from the end of the 13th century to the start of the 20th century.

Research Conducted

During the six weeks, I have worked closely with both primary sources and secondary literature to fully comprehend how medieval courts functioned and the lives of individuals living in the medieval era, as well as the connections between people. This has been concluded from the main court roll I was working with, from the years between 1331 and 1333, as well as the rolls before and after these years, including the rolls in 1348 to 1350, which include the lived experience in Wakefield during the Black Death. The records do not explicitly mention the plague, but many ongoing cases that spanned the length of months ended abruptly with the mention of the death of one or both parties. It also includes sobering personal stories, including that of Adam Shepard: in 1349 he took his own life under the strain of 100 shillings worth of debt. This entry, along with many others show the importance of the court rolls as a rich historical source as it reminds us that it is a record of the lived experience in 14th century England, and how events have relatable parallels with the modern era.

As for the context behind my creative product, a short story about a court case occurring in 1332/3, people in the court rolls were reactive to the turbulent times they lived in; with many people charged with theft of crops and livestock during the Scottish Invasion’s Great Raid of 1322 and the Great Famine of 1315-1317 (during which the crops did not grow as there was constant rain for two years). As well as the turbulent unrest, national political upheaval was occurring during this period. The court case I focus on (Tothill vs Rode), occurs with the context of Edward iii usurping power back from Mortimer and Queen Isabella, involving many changes of Sheriffs. The entry on the parchment roll is recorded on the 25th of June 1333, rather than where Peter de Saltmarsh (Salso Marisco) replaced Baron Ralph de Bulmer as Sheriff of Wakefield, then being replaced by Peter de Middleton shortly after on the 27th of January 1335. Therefore, the political and social struggle during this period can be related to the modern world, something that we, as modern people, often forget. A main aim of my project was to dissolve a preconception of people living in the Medieval era as ‘lesser’ or as not as ‘advanced’, as this is completely false. The court case I have based my project on reminds us that Medieval people were complex beings with thoughts and feelings much like our own.

Tothill vs Rode is an exceptional case, in which Joan de Tothill accuses Richard del Rode of entering the two-chamber house, breaking open and stealing 20 shillings worth of silk, jewels, and clasps from her coffer. Richard claims that he is innocent, calling upon a jury to agree. Under oath, they decide that he is guilty, and he is hanged. The entry is not mentioned until Richard was hanged on the 25th of June 1333, an atypical way to record it, as if it had been hastily and surreptitiously added. This is because a section of my research focused on the connections between the listed jury with the prosecution, therefore, making it an unfair trial with a seemingly harsher punishment to our modern standards.

Going through previous court cases, I created a spreadsheet and a diagram of primary and secondary personal connections with the prosecution’s representative, professional lawyer Thomas de Tothill, as well as three other professional lawyers, William Templer, Robert de Mora, and William Cussing. From this research it was discovered that two thirds of the jury were directly implicated with Thomas de Tothill, or one or more professional lawyers. This highlights the injustice in this case, as it was unfairly biased towards the Tothill family winning, thereby a harsher penalty occurred. So, the focus of my story was to highlight the social injustice that occurred amongst the hierarchical peasantry.

Research Impact

The research that I have undertaken has been very impactful not only for me but also for understanding the wider social dynamics of the peasantry.

Preconceptions of the Medieval era is that all peasants were suppressed beneath the lord of the land. However, this is found to vary from place to place, as John de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey, Sussex, and Wakefield was not as involved in Wakefield as he was in Surrey and Sussex due to revolts threatening his power. This left the Sheriff, Baron Ralph de Bulmer, and the Steward, William de Skargill, with more political power over the manorial court, as well as this, lawyers and knights were also influential in the land, as they were wealthier by inheriting or being gifted larger landholdings.

            My research on the connections between the members of the jury with the court case helped me to conceptualise how community-orientated Medieval England was, including in the judicial system with there being a heavy emphasis on being tried by your peers, as outlined in the Magna Carta. With the connections between the jury and the lawyers, only members of the upper peasantry were very well connected, with multiple relationships recorded in the court rolls, yet one third of the jury members had no mention of them, which I have inferred as to be members of the lower peasantry.  This obvious disparity in the different hierarchy’s networks is a timeless theme, which relates to the modern era as wealthier individuals have a stronger network of influence. Therefore, connecting them together makes the transition into the Medieval setting more seamless. This is impactful as it reinforces the theme of injustice as well as the inequality, especially as the prosecution were wealthy lawyers trying a poor farmer, this intensifies the power of wealth and money.

            Besides the timeless social commentary, my research has also been impactful as it has broadened my skills by working with an almost seven-hundred-year-old object. Gaining the experience of going into the Cultural Collections in the Brotherton Library, seeing, and reading the document, connected me more to the lived experience of the Medieval era, as well as my roots. Learning more about the history of Wakefield and its inhabitants makes me more appreciative of the place where I am from, as I have had the opportunity to bring a local story to life and make something relatable out of a story that may have seemed initially unrelatable.

            Therefore, my research has been impactful for my skills as well as being personally fulfilling.

Disseminating Research

As a part of the Laidlaw programme, I have produced a research poster for the Annual Laidlaw Scholar Conference in Durham this October. It challenged me as it was difficult to eloquently and succinctly order my research and findings in an academic context. With it being a humanitarian subject and a piece of creative writing, I have not yet been able to engage with my audience and have feedback from their reactions yet. Therefore, it has been difficult to gage the outcomes of the project, after this short period of time.

Conducting Research Reflections

Conducting my own research has challenged and developed my skills as an historian, making me more well-rounded, experienced and capable. This has been tested through the independent research I have conducted with my primary resources and my secondary literature. As my project covered a vast expanse of time, there were many directions and approaches I could have taken that would have had shaped my end product differently.

            Deciding what roll to focus on, the year it was in, as well as the specific case that I was going to write about so soon on in the project was a challenge. Yet it forced me to manage my time effectively as I conducted a lot of reading of the primary material itself, as well as the secondary literature to contextualise myself within the Medieval world and political climate.    Swift decision making has pushed me to quickly assess the quality of a recorded court case, of which I had a requirement of how much information there was around the case and the scope of artistic licence that I could take, but also be aware of any sensitive topics that may cause distress or be disrespectful. Therefore, although ethical approval isn’t needed for my project as the events that were recorded occurred several hundred years ago, it would have been insensitive to write about Adam Shepard’s suicide, for example.

            The advantage of my case, Tothill vs Rode, was that there was an outline of the account of events, which sparked a lot of different visions for my creative project. As it was an exceptional case, and open to interpretation, I was able to connect to the case in a way that I have been unable to with what the manorial court’s original purposes, of recording land transfers and crimes such as theft and trespass.

            This made me more capable as I have conducted my own independent research, as I had to make my own swift decisions that tested and developed my critical thinking and analysis, as well as being adaptable on my approach. This was highlighted when I analysed the connections, and the four jurymen who were not mentioned, I deduced that they must have been laypeople because of the absence of a record. This deduction and decision making has challenged me as it was one of many pivotal decisions that I had to make, and having the power to make them has made me trust my own capabilities more.

            Therefore, conducting my own research has challenged me but my skills have grown and developed from this project.

Leadership Skills Gained

My skills have been continuously developing as a part of the research period, yet the ones that have stood out as notable during this time are: decision making, problem solving, and creativity.

            Swift and impactful decisions in this project has been vital for this project, developing my confidence and skills in both a historic and creative manner.

With some creative decisions decided on, such as the setting, and the locations of the story, as well as the verdict and sentence of the defence, Richard del Rhode, there was still the mystery of what actually happened for Richard to be hanged. Along with the injustice of the court being unfairly biased towards the prosecution, as well as ticking to the source material, it would not have make sense for him to be hanged over twenty shillings worth of items for a modern audience. So, thinking creatively and taking artistic license, I devised a plot that would be uncovered through multiple perspectives, organically introducing context of the century and the political climate as well as motives behind the prosecution from the perspective of the jury men closer to Thomas de Tothill. This decision solved my problem of the question of what happened, making Richard’s sentence more plausible to a modern audience, as well as organically revealing information.

            Along with making decisions and problem solving, communication with my supervisor improved my skills of communicating in a professional manner, as I exchanged emails with Dr McCleery multiple times a week, and had weekly meetings. It prepared me to effectively communicate with professors and experts in their fields, which I had to exercise by attending the International Medieval Conference.

Future Plans

Although no rigid plans are set, I have gained a deeper appreciation of Medieval history, objects, and artefacts. This has been intensified by attending the International Medieval Conference as well as taking ownership of research and crafting a piece of writing that will enter the public domain.

            It has also captivated my interest in objects - not only the purpose of objects that may be obsolete today - but the intrinsic value of Medieval objects, through cultural, monetary, and liturgical means.

It has inspired me to take more Medieval modules for my second year, as well as to consider it as a topic to write my dissertation on, perhaps using the court records as well as plague cemeteries to track the movement of people, and uncover how people lived through the plague years,

Besides my appreciation of Medieval history, the project has also connected me to my roots, as I have learned about and researched the lives of people hundreds of years before me, and it has been refreshing to see how relatable people were in their relationships. As feuds and disagreements were common, it is recorded that people were still interacting with their neighbours, some disagreements in court were resolved quickly and some were long and drawn out. Such is the case of John Mariotson and William, son of Henry Southwade: a plea of trespass, which was dragged out for months, until the inquiry was eventually voided due to John Mariotson’s death.

            Although my research is complete, I plan to disseminate it with the Laidlaw Conference this October, as well as at next year’s International Medieval Conference.