Deeds of arms - formal, limited combats - were an important part of late medieval warrior culture, allowing men-at-arms the chance to display their identities and establish their martial worth before an audience that included their peers, their lords and captains, and the ladies who inspired them. Among the most interesting, unusual and prominent deeds of arms were the judicial duels of the late Middle Ages (14th and 15th centuries). The word "duel" suggests to modern audiences a conflict over honor, but although medieval trials by combat were likewise concerned with issues of reputation and shame, their purpose was judicial: a method of reaching a verdict when other methods could not. If evidence or testimony was not clear or was rejected by participants in a legal case, one could always turn to God. But there was, in fact, no guarantee of clarity even in the case of the duel, and unlike their portrayal in popular media, it was rare for duels to be fought to a lethal conclusion. A settlement was often negotiated before the trial was ever fought, or halted by the judge in mid-combat before either combatant could be slain. For a millennium, the trial by battle had been a fairly routine part of law enforcement in many parts of Europe, but by the second half of the 13th century, they were increasingly restricted to adjudicating guilt for capital crimes such as murder, rape, and treason. Yet even as such combats became increasingly rare, their scarcity lent them an aura of prestige, making the late 14th century a golden age for duels, drawing a great deal of popular, clerical and legal attention. The cases in which duels were approved were often controversial, as was the legal procedure itself. Was the result of a judicial combat truly an expression of the will of God? Medieval lawyers and ordinary observers often had their doubts. The controversies surrounding duels resulted in a number of late medieval duels being recorded in some detail. These duels are therefore among the best-known medieval deeds of arms, and accounts of some of the most sanguine, unusual or controversial are contained herein.

During the 14th century, men of arms--knights and soldiers--exercised themselves in various forms of competitions to both refine their skills and as a matter of national honor. Steven Muhlberger details these contests, analyzing how their renown was of great politial importance. Drawn from an extensive study of all remaining sources from the 14th century, Dr. Muhlberger brings his considerable scholarly expertise together with a knack for accessible writing to produce what will become the definitive work on the subject.

This open access book is the culmination of many years of research on what happened to the bodies of executed criminals in the past. Focusing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it looks at the consequences of the 1752 Murder Act. These criminal bodies had a crucial role in the history of medicine, and the history of crime, and great symbolic resonance in literature and popular culture. Starting with a consideration of the criminal corpse in the medieval and early modern periods, chapters go on to review the histories of criminal justice, of medical history and of gibbeting under the Murder Act, and ends with some discussion of the afterlives of the corpse, in literature, folklore and in contemporary medical ethics. Using sophisticated insights from cultural history, archaeology, literature, philosophy and ethics as well as medical and crime history, this book is a uniquely interdisciplinary take on a fascinating historical phenomenon.

Offers a unique behind the scenes look at the capital punishment cases that made it to the highest court in the land.