The voices of royal subjects? Political speech in the judicial and governmental records of fourteenth-century England

Abstract

This article examines the reported speech of individuals who were accused of voicing criticism of the monarch or of royal government in fourteenth-century England. These words were attributed to individuals outside of the social elite, who were then drawn into political discourses shaped by the ideologies and institutional structures of the royal courts. This process might influence relations between neighbours and local communities, as well as between individuals and the officials who represented the Crown. When we think about how this affects our understanding of late medieval political culture, we need to think about the whole context of the accusation: the role of ‘informers’, witnesses and local juries. Political news sometimes emanated from royal office holders, messengers, clerks and sheriffs, allowing them to demonstrate just how well-connected they were with those in power. They could also manipulate the process to accuse opponents of spreading false tales and pursue local vendettas through the royal courts. All those who participated in the process had to interact with the language and procedure of the royal judicial system and they constructed their narratives carefully as part of the performance required by the courts. The written records, then, allow us to examine how the words of these individuals were rendered in textual form, and further, to think carefully about how they were represented as subjects of the Crown.