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Title: Cambridge Mapping Project Solves a Medieval Murder

Link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/06/06/21222...

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: In 2019, we told you
about a new interactive digital "murder map" of London compiled by University
of Cambridge criminologist Manuel Eisner. Drawing on data catalogued in the
city coroners' rolls, the map showed the approximate location of 142 homicide
cases in late medieval London. The Medieval Murder Maps project has since
expanded to include maps of York and Oxford homicides, as well as podcast
episodes focusing on individual cases. It's easy to lose oneself down the
rabbit hole of medieval murder for hours, filtering the killings by year,
choice of weapon, and location. Think of it as a kind of 14th-century version
of Clue: It was the noblewoman's hired assassins armed with daggers in the
streets of Cheapside near St. Paul's Cathedral. And that's just the juiciest
of the various cases described in a new paper published in the journal
Criminal Law Forum. The noblewoman was Ela Fitzpayne, wife of a knight named
Sir Robert Fitzpayne, lord of Stogursey. The victim was a priest and her
erstwhile lover, John Forde, who was stabbed to death in the streets of
Cheapside on May 3, 1337. "We are looking at a murder commissioned by a
leading figure of the English aristocracy," said University of Cambridge
criminologist Manuel Eisner, who heads the Medieval Murder Maps project. "It
is planned and cold-blooded, with a family member and close associates
carrying it out, all of which suggests a revenge motive." Members of the
mapping project geocoded all the cases after determining approximate
locations for the crime scenes. Written in Latin, the coroners' rolls are
records of sudden or suspicious deaths as investigated by a jury of local
men, called together by the coroner to establish facts and reach a verdict.
Those records contain such relevant information as where the body was found
and by whom; the nature of the wounds; the jury's verdict on cause of death;
the weapon used and how much it was worth; the time, location, and witness
accounts; whether the perpetrator was arrested, escaped, or sought sanctuary;
and any legal measures taken. The full historical context, analytical depth,
and social commentary can be read in the the paper. Interestingly, Eisner
"extended their spatial analysis to include homicides committed in York and
London in the 14th century with similar conclusions," writes Ars' Jennifer
Ouellette. Most murders often occurred in public places, usually on weekends,
with knives and swords as primary weapons. Oxford had a significantly
elevated violence rate compared to London and York, "suggestive of high
levels of social disorganization and impunity." London, meanwhile, showed
distinct clusters of homicides, "which reflect differences in economic and
social functions," the authors wrote. "In all three cities, some homicides
were committed in spaces of high visibility and symbolic significance."

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