The Devil's Daughter of Hell Fire
Anger's Role in Medieval English Felony Cases
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12073133 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elizabeth Papp Kamali (0000-0002-7319-9482, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 155-200 |
| Publication date | 2016-12-12 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Law and History Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0738-2480 • E-ISSN: 1939-9022 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0738248016000481 |
| OpenAlex | W2560766316 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 22 |
During the period at issue in this paper–the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, when trial juries were first employed in English felony cases–felonious homicide was a catch-all category, with no formal distinction drawn between murder and manslaughter. Nevertheless, juries did distinguish among different types of homicide as they sorted the guilty from the innocent, and the irremediably guilty from those worthy of pardon. Anger was one of the factors that informed this sorting process. This paper builds upon an earlier analysis of the meaning of felony, which posited that the medieval paradigm of felony was an act that involved deliberation and forethought, an exercise of a person's reasoning capacity and volition in the absence of necessity, and moral blameworthiness. Anger complicates this scenario. On the one hand, anger was seen to be a product of an ill-formed conscience. This potentially placed anger within the felonious area of moral blameworthiness. On the other hand, anger in its more extreme manifestations was seen to inhibit a person's ability to reason and to inspire behavior resembling insanity, thereby possibly pointing toward a partial excuse. This paper takes a fresh methodological approach for the study of emotion in the common law, placing legal texts within a broader cultural context in order to illuminate the concerns and priorities of jurors
Acquittal · Anger · Context (archaeology · Criminology · Excuse · Homicide · Jury · Poison control · Political science · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Historical Economic and Legal Thought · History · History of Emotions Research · Law · Psychology · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending · Social Psychology
Worrying about Emotions in History
The Trotula
Thomas Aquinas on the Passions
Anger's Past
Hatred as a Social Institution in Late-Medieval Society
Bodies of Evidence
Choosing the Avenger
Broken Cups, Men’s Wrath, and the Neighbours’ Revenge
The Demise of Chance Medley and the Recognition of Provocation as a Defence to Murder in English Law
Bloodtaking and Peacemaking
| Citations per year | 0.29 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2022 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |