News:

Welcome to the SoA Forum.  You are welcome to browse through and contribute to the Forums listed below.

Main Menu

Murder in Medieval Oxford

Started by Erpingham, December 03, 2018, 06:16:28 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Erpingham

Forget the the subtleties of Morse.

http://www.medievalists.net/2018/11/five-murders-in-medieval-oxford/

No poleaxes, but two sparths - a long handled descendent of a Danish axe not the dainty hatchet the translations suggest.  On what basis was it OK to wander the streets at night armed with a six-foot poleweapon?


Jim Webster

Quote from: Erpingham on December 03, 2018, 06:16:28 PM
Forget the the subtleties of Morse.

http://www.medievalists.net/2018/11/five-murders-in-medieval-oxford/

No poleaxes, but two sparths - a long handled descendent of a Danish axe not the dainty hatchet the translations suggest.  On what basis was it OK to wander the streets at night armed with a six-foot poleweapon?

given the murder rate I'd say it was probably essential. It's not safe out there without one  :-[

Patrick Waterson

Perhaps the most intriguing feature is the number of clerks involved in the murders.  I am sure a statistician would be able to demonstrate a link between literacy and homicidal tendencies ... ;)
"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." - Winston Churchill