LET THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE PERSON: MANORIAL AMERCEMENTS FOR BLOODSHED IN FOURTEENTH-CENTURY YORKSHIRE

This article explores the prosecution of petty violence in fourteenth-century Yorkshire through an analysis of 871 presentments for bloodshed across the manor courts of Wakefield, Conisbrough, Bradford and Methley. While the historiography of medieval violence has largely focused on homicide, this study draws attention to the more frequent and often overlooked offence of bloodshed. Manor court rolls offer a rare insight into how such violence was ‘policed’ and punished at the village level. Presentments for bloodshed were typically brief, listing only the attacker, the victim and the amercement issued. This new research discovers that women were typically amerced less than men. By examining the financial penalties imposed, this article identifies a clear gendered pattern: women were amerced around half as much as men for the same offence. This disparity cannot be explained solely by assumptions about female violence. This pattern was shaped by economic, rather than legal or social, factors. It is argued that amercements were shaped by the offender’s economic status and means. Given women’s limited landholding and lower wages, courts likely issued smaller fines based on capacity to pay. This study highlights the value of manor court records for understanding everyday violence and argues for the importance of integrating gendered and economic analysis into the study of medieval criminal justice.