Going back through my notes for Talio’s Codex, I discovered some research I did at the very start of the project. I wanted to see what kind of cases, terminology and legal concepts were used in medieval England. Fortunately, the proceedings of the Old Bailey (the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales) are online.
I picked a representative report from 1689 – “On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, being the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th Days of December, 1689.” I made a whole bunch of point-form notes…a few of which were critical in giving me ideas for the novel. Here they are, right from OneNote:
Inspirations for Talio’s Codex
- Victualling-houses (tavern/inn) – Inspired the idea for the Double Moon Inn, Talio’s base of operations
- “People of quality” – the middle/upper-class – Inspired the idea of nobility not having to testify directly
- ‘burnt in the hand’ – marked with an iron brand (M for murder, T for theft, etc.) – anyone could claim to be clergy and get a non-guilty plea ‘the Benefit of Clergy’. But to make sure they didn’t claim it twice, they were branded. – Inspired the religion of the Incarnites, who are fully covered except for their hands, which are tattooed for identity purposes
- Counterfeiting/clipping of money = high treason – Inspired Pazli’s cousin being accused of clipping (“The queen considered defacement of currency of Merin the most serious crime next to murder and rape. It was more serious than assault. Anyone who snipped off the edges of coins hoping to make more coins was a fool. Or desperate and poor.”)
- Killing by misadventure – This was the finding in the first murder hearing in the book, in a very early draft
Other Types of Crimes
- Lots of tankard thefts!
- Stealing napkins!
- Drawn, hung and quartered for high treason counterfeiting (“Coining”)!!
- Hung for stealing a horse (felony)
Legal Terminology and Concepts
- said, that he was Instigated to Commit the Fact by the Temptations of the Devil
- Circumstantial evidence
- Transportation as sentence – sentenced to a penal colony
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_transportation
- https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Punishment.jsp#miscellaneouspunishments
- Pardons: All capital sentences from the Old Bailey were reviewed by the King and his cabinet following reports from the Recorder of London. Those convicts who were not pardoned could have their cases reviewed again if petitions for mercy were received from them or their family and friends.
Things I Didn’t Know Existed Back Then
- Fences (i.e. to sell stolen goods to)
- Toll books – records of horses, etc. sold at fairs
- Almanacs
- Quart Pots
- Coffee-Houses
Cool/Funny Terms
- Confederate (an accomplice)
- A debauch (Talio had plenty of these in the past)
- Great abuse and defraudment
- The ‘fray’ and ‘heat’ – aka heat of the moment
- Chance-Medley – killing someone accidentally during a sudden fight. I loved this term, but there was no way for me to fit it in. Its etymology is also a bit dependent on the French language.