England in the late Middle Ages was often a startlingly violent place, with a homicide rate many times higher than it is in the twenty-first century, long-running and murderous feuds, an often corrupt judicial system, and brutal punishments. Medieval English people lacked the stiff upper lip of later centuries and were prone to impetuous aggression. As it was customary for men to carry weapons, quarrels often proved violent and lethal. Murder and Mayhem examines this world, looking at murder, fights, abductions, vendettas, criminal gangs and much more, and at how the judicial system tried to cope with the high levels of violence.
