The ideology of punishment in late medieval English towns.

This article explores the urban ideology of justice developed by English civic authorities in the period from c. 1350 to c. 1500, using evidence from the custumals and court records of provincial towns. It considers how contemporary images of just rule were adapted by town leaders for the urban setting and how religious rhetoric influenced their decisions when presiding in the local courts. Discussion focuses particularly on the sanctions used to enforce urban by-laws, analysing the use of fines, mutilation, imprisonment and shame rituals in the borough setting. Incarceration, it is argued, had a definite punitive purpose in late medieval towns; it was not simply used for holding suspects prior to trial. This was particularly evident in cases involving high-status offenders and the article examines how the treatment of wrongdoers was affected not only by the nature of their misconduct but also by their social standing within the community. Finally, the article highlights the methods used by the civic authorities to reintegrate at least some offenders into the urban community and provides discussion of the use of ritualized submission and public displays of mercy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]