Internet Medieval Sourcebook
Selected Sources: Social History
For subjects sometimes considered under "social history" see:
- This section to be developed
- The Slave Trade
- The Church and Slavery
- Council of Agde: Concerning Slaves of the
- Gregory of Tours: Enslaving Noble Families, 511
- Fifth Council of Orleans: Concerning Freedmen, 549
- Gregory of Tours: Harsh Treatment of Serfs and Slaves,
- Gregory I the Great (r.590-604): On Manumission and
Redemption, c. 600
- St. Eligius: Redemption of Slaves, c. 630
- Fourth Council of Toledo: On the Keeping of Slaves,
633 [re Jews]
- Pope Gregory III: Prohibition on Selling Christians to
Pagans for Sacrificial Rites, 731
- Lullo, Archbishop of Mainz: On Traffic in Ecclesiastical
Serfs, c. 755
- Council of Worms: On the Murder of Slaves, 876
- Peter the Venerable vs. St. Bernard of Clairvaux: On
the Keeping of Serfs, c. 1120
- Innocent III (r.1198-1216): The Keeping of Slaves by
the Jews, 1204
- See Economic Life section for documents on
farming activities, the peasant's legal position, customary obligations, and peasant
- For issues of real property, and inheritance, see the documents on "feudalism"
in the 10th Century Collapse? section.
Reflected in Literature
Make sure to see the Literary Texts section of the Medieval
Sourcebook: Full Texts Page, for many complete medieval epics, romances, and other
and the Monk, after 1450. [At Sacred Texts]
The earliest Robin Hood Ballad.
- [Tierney 99] Italian Merchant: In Praise of Merchants 1458, copyrighted
- [Tierney 100] Sebastian Brant: The Ship of Fools 1494, copyrighted. See
also Catholic Encyclopedia:
- Everyman, 15th century, full text
- [Tierney 102.1] François Villon (c.1431-after 1463): Ballade of the Concourse of Blois, copyrighted
- [Tierney 102.2] François Villon (c.1431-after 1463): Ballade for Fat Margo, copyrighted
- [Tierney 102.3-4] François Villon (c.1431-after 1463): Ballade
to Our Lady and Epitaph in the form of a Ballade.
Law: Theory and Practice
- See the specific Medieval Sourcebook: Medieval Legal History page
- WEB Robert Palmer: English Legal History
Materials Page [At Univ. Houston]
Basically an online textbook on Medieval English law. The Discussion chapters contain the
full texts or extended excerpst of the main documents.
- Robert Palmer: Application
of Writs. [At Univ. Houston]
Cases derived from the plea rolls, the records of the king's court, showing application of
- John of Ibelin: Account of a Plea, 1198, The
earliest documented instance of an appeal to the Assise sur la ligece
- Concord made between Laurence the Clerk, Son of
William & Sir Simon, son of Richard of Stanstead and their kinsmen, c. 1150 x
- The Trial of Enguerrand IV de Coucy Before Louis IX,
- The Strange Story of Thomas of Elderfield, 13th Century.
- Agreement between Count William V of Aquitaine and Hugh
IV of Lusignan.
- The Questioning of John Rykener, A Male Cross-Dressing
This is the one a a minute number of texts from legal processes on same-sex activities in
late medieval England. The document contains a facsimile of the Roll membrane, a Latin
transcription, and a translation.
- Oldradus de Ponte: No. 35 (Questio), early 14th
The issue here is the validity of a marriage contract made under duress. A woman was
kidnapped, held captive and raped over a period of twelve days. During that time, the
villain compelled the woman to pronounce the words of a marriage ceremony, after which he
endeavored to consummate the marriage.
- Oldradus de Ponte: No. 92 (Questio), early 14th
The here was the responsibility of a knight who had been entrusted with a castle while a
war was going on. That knight gave custody of the castle to someone else who then lost it
to the enemy. Was the original knight liable for the castle's loss? What is the
responsibility of someone who undertakes to keep something safe for someone else?
NOTES: copyrighted means the text is not available for free distribution. In
some cases alternate versions are available, and are working through the pipeline. Dates of accession of material can be seen in the New Accessions Page. The date of inception was 1/20/1996. Links to files at other site are indicated by [At some indication of the site name or
location]. No indication means that the text file is local. WEB indicates a link to one of
small number of high quality web sites which provide either more texts or an especially