“Explore Medieval London’s Deadliest Streets: Interactive Map Reveals Your Likelihood of Murder”
In order to paint a better picture of just how gruesome the Middle Ages in England was, the University of Cambridge’s criminology department compiled the “London Medieval Murder Map” that shows where the most homicides occurred in Medieval London over the course of 40 years.
The interactive map designates all the deaths that occurred between the years 1300 and 1340 A.D. and where in London that murder occurred. The map also reveals the murderer as well as their weapon of choice. Where possible, the map also explains the reasons behind certain murders.
The information for the map has been derived from the surviving nine years of “coroners’ rolls,” or coroner’s reports, from the first four decades of the 14th century. The documents were examined and deciphered by Professor Manuel Eisner, who directs the university’s Violence Research Centre. According to Eisner, most of these murders were relatively senseless, much like they are in modern society.
Wikimedia CommonsThe streets near Leadenhall Market, which was one of the murder hotspots in Medieval London.
The killings outlined in the map demonstrate how murder was “embedded in the rhythms of urban medieval life,” Eisner reported. “The events described in the coroners’ rolls show weapons were never far away, male honor had to be protected, and conflicts easily got out of hand.”
An example of one such escalated incident occurred at a urinal. The coroner’s record state that one man named William Roe peed onto the shoes of an unknown young man who then complained so much that William punched him. This naturally resulted in a brawl and a Philip of Ashendon came to the aid of the young man. William responded by stabbing Philip in the head with a nearby poleaxe.
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