8:37 PM :: Stephen (contact)

Swamped with what work, you ask? Well, I've been spending the summer trying to transform my undergraduate thesis on medieval commercial law ("The 'Law Merchant' and the Fair Court of St. Ives, 1270-1324") into a publishable article. If you have any experience in this area and would like to offer suggestions for the revision, please let me know.

One of the joys of historical research, as Josh Chafetz has remarked, is occasionally finding echos of the past in the modern world. For instance, in what may be the earliest recorded example of English soccer violence (oh, I'm sorry, 'football' violence), in 1373 a group of tailors were prosecuted in London for having

made an assembly, under colour of playing with a football, in order to assault others, occasion disputes, and perpetrate other evil deeds against the peace.

(For this and other fascinating episodes of medieval life, see the Calendar of Plea and Memoranda Rolls Preserved Among the Archives of the Corporation of the City of London at the Guild-hall, Volume II, page 152. Some later entries in the rolls may also be found here.)

However, since I'm now leaving town for a week, the work is on hold; expect another short hiatus in posting.