Making of Felony Procedure in Middle English Literature

This book is about felony prosecution in late medieval England, which it argues was shaped by literary and legal ideas. Medieval lawmen found felony distasteful, leaving its definition and prosecution to ordinary people. Wang argues they turned to literary dramatic, and religious sources for their ideas of evidence, proof, and guilt.

List of contents

• Acknowledgments


• Introduction


• 1: Death Investigation: St. Erkenwald's Bright Body


• 2: The Plea: Placita Corone and Narrative Satisfaction


• 3: Testimony: The Pistil of Swete Susan and the Oathworthy Witness


• 4: The Records: Roberd the Robbere and Documentary Technology


• 5: Standing Mute: Silence and Consent in Law and Literature


• Epilogue


• Works Cited


• Index

About the author

Elise Wang (A.B. Harvard University, M.St. Oxford University, Ph.D. Princeton University) is an assistant professor of medieval literature at California State University, Fullerton. Before joining the faculty there, she taught for two years in a postdoctoral position at Duke University and for six years as a cofounder of a prison teaching program at Garden State Correctional Facility. She has been the recipient of the Charlotte Newcombe Doctoral Fellowship, University Center for Human Values Graduate Prize Fellowship, and a Rhodes Scholarship (Illinois & Merton). Her work has appeared in New Medieval Literatures, Exemplaria, Modern Language Review, TED, and The Daily Show Podcast.

Summary

This book is about felony prosecution in late medieval England, which it argues was shaped by literary and legal ideas. Medieval lawmen found felony distasteful, leaving its definition and prosecution to ordinary people. Wang argues they turned to literary dramatic, and religious sources for their ideas of evidence, proof, and guilt.

Product details

• Authors: Elise Wang, Elise (Assistant Professor of English Wang
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 23.04.2024
• EAN: 9780192870728
• ISBN: 978-0-19-287072-8
• No. of pages: 192
• Series: Law and Literature
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > Classical linguistics / literary studies; European History, HISTORY / Europe / General, LAW / Legal History, LITERARY CRITICISM / Medieval, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Legal History, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, c 500 to c 1000 CE, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, C 500 CE To C 1000 CE, Middle English