# law and order



## Dragonlady (May 10, 2007)

Anyone know anything about mediaeval law and order, ie if there was anything approaching a police force, how crimes were investigated etc? I'm thinking of venturing into crime in some future writing


----------



## Melisende (Jul 25, 2007)

I believe in cities like Venice and Florence there were such things as a Militia - which functioned similar to a local police force / standing army.

Mostly law and order was under the responsibility of the local ruler who tended to use armed retainers.  Shire Reeves, the forerunners to Sheriffs, could also, I supposed, be likened to a police force.


----------



## Pravuil (Mar 13, 2010)

Law in what country and under whose rule? If you're thinking of the typical English law that Fantasy so often plays on ( usaully to a minor defree) then you'll be wanting Medieval English Law. For starters, there's this (haven't read all the articles so not sure if Wiki approaches subjects of heriot, merchet, tallage, etc.): Category:Medieval law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And, for more general studies, this: Portal:Middle Ages - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikipedia is more reliable than the mainstream would have you believe.


----------



## Somni (Mar 13, 2010)

I suspect that the closest thing to a police force for the general populace would be the constable.  If I remember rightly,  the constable(s) acted like a police man with the power to draft villagers to aid in enforcing the peace e.g. draft the blacksmith to help restrain a criminal.  Wiki has a bit of background Constable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Higher level crimes, as Melisende suggests, would have been dealt with by local 'lords'.


----------



## Somni (Mar 13, 2010)

A little more detail, similar to what I remember learning in history is here: http://users.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/glossary.html (scroll down to constable).


----------



## Severus (Mar 13, 2010)

It really depends on the country, the exact time period, the reign of a particular ruler which would determine exectly how effective royal justice was, whether or not the clergy were involved (i.e. the trial by ordeal, which fell out of use once clergy were forbidden from being involved during the Fourth Lateran Council), etc.

In short, you need to narrow down the parameters of the question.


----------



## Tsujigiri (Mar 20, 2010)

Or do a little research for yourself and then create the legal system you need for your writing.....it's fiction, as long as it isn't completely unrealistic no one will either care or notice apart from those sad souls who read books just to dissect them....


----------



## Tirellan (Jul 31, 2010)

May I recommend 'The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England' by Ian Mortimer.
Essential reading for fantasy world-building


----------



## River Boy (Jul 31, 2010)

I'd have thought the Church would have been the major influence upon people's actions.


----------

