| Titre | Les tribunaux royaux | |
|---|---|---|
| Auteur | Rodney H. Hilton | |
 |
Revue | Etudes rurales |
| Numéro | no 103-104, 1986 Droit et paysans | |
| Rubrique / Thématique | Le droit et les paysans La société paysanne et le droit dans l'Angleterre médiévale |
|
| Page | 29-38 | |
| Résumé anglais |
The Royal Courts
Since they constituted the great majority of the population, the appearances of peasants were frequent in courts dealing with criminal cases (such as, murder, serious assault, burglary and theft of goods above a certain value). Their presence in non-criminal cases, such as disputes about land, debt, broken contract etc., was much less common. This was because, even in the thirteenth century, legal proceedings were expensive, even for well-to-do peasants. Nevertheless, peasants sometimes contributed to a common purse in order to hire lawyers to bring cases in the king's courts against their lords. These cases dealt with matters such as freedom of status and tenure, excessive demands for rent or labour service, encroachment on common rights. After the Black Death a new situation arose. Members of the county gentry were appointed as Justices of the Peace. They dealt not only with matters of public order but also with wage rates, prices and measures. Their justice was seen as an instrument in the hands of the gentry and against the interests of the peasantry, as the Rising of 1381 clearly showed. Source : Éditeur (via Persée) |
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| Article en ligne | http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rural_0014-2182_1986_num_103_1_3151 |
