Latest news with #Fitzpayne
Mint
5 days ago
- Mint
How ‘Walk of Shame' pushed a woman to kill a priest: Shocking details emerge in 700-year-old murder case
During a recent study, a nearly 700-year-old murder case was reopened. And, researchers found shocking details. In 1337, a priest named John Forde was stabbed to death near a church by a group of men in London. Only one attacker was jailed. A powerful woman named Ela Fitzpayne, who may have planned the murder, was never punished. Medieval England was violent. In Oxford, murder rates reached 60–75 deaths per 1 lakh, nearly 50 times today's average. Records show students fighting with swords and slings while tavern brawls turned into street battles. New research shows Forde was once her lover and possibly part of her gang that robbed a French priory. After Forde betrayed her, the Archbishop of Canterbury accused Fitzpayne of serial adultery "with knights and others, single and married, and even with clerics in holy orders", according to CNN. Fitzpayne was punished with a 'Walk of Shame' by the Church. She was asked to walk barefoot in Salisbury Cathedral carrying a heavy candle evey fall for seven years. She was also asked to donate large sums of money to the poor. She was not allowed to wear gold or precious gems. While she did not care much about other punishments, experts think her public shame may have pushed her toward revenge. Years later, she likely took revenge by having Forde killed. New findings about John Forde's murder in 14th-century London reveal how public killings were sometimes used to show power. The case is part of the Medieval Murder Maps project by Cambridge University. This project, led by Professor Manuel Eisner, translates old Latin records written by coroners. The records list details of suspicious deaths after jury discussions. In Forde's case, records say Fitzpayne convinced four men, her brother, two servants and a chaplain, to murder Forde. As the chaplain distracted him on the street, the others attacked. Forde's throat was slit and he was stabbed. Only one attacker, servant Hugh Colne, was jailed. Eisner found a second clue in a 1322 royal report. It was a decade older than the murder of priest John Forde. It described how Forde, along with Sir Robert and Lady Fitzpayne, attacked a French Benedictine priory near Fitzpayne's castle.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Reopening a 688-year-old murder case reveals a tangled web of adultery and extortion in medieval England
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. The sun was setting on a busy London street on a May evening in 1337 when a group of men approached a priest named John Forde. They surrounded him in front of a church near Old St. Paul's Cathedral, stabbed him in the neck and stomach, and then fled. Witnesses identified his killers, but just one assailant went to prison. And the woman who might have ordered the brazen and shocking hit — Ela Fitzpayne, a wealthy and powerful aristocrat — was never brought to justice, according to historical records describing the case. Nearly 700 years later, new details have come to light about the events leading up to the brutal crime and the noblewoman who was likely behind it. Her criminal dealings included theft and extortion as well as the murder of Forde — who was also her former lover. Forde (his name also appeared in records as 'John de Forde') could have been part of a crime gang led by Fitzpayne, according to a recently discovered document. The group robbed a nearby French-controlled priory, taking advantage of England's deteriorating relationship with France to extort the church, researchers reported in a study published June 6 in the journal Criminal Law Forum. But the wayward priest may have then betrayed Fitzpayne to his religious superiors. The Archbishop of Canterbury penned a letter in 1332 that the new report also linked to Forde's murder. In the letter, the archbishop denounced Fitzpayne and accused her of committing serial adultery 'with knights and others, single and married, and even with clerics in holy orders.' The archbishop's letter named one of Fitzpayne's many paramours: Forde, who was rector of a parish church in a village on the Fitzpayne family's estate in Dorset. In the wake of this damning accusation, the church assigned Fitzpayne humiliating public penance. Years later, she exacted her revenge by having Forde assassinated, according to lead study author Dr. Manuel Eisner, a professor at the UK's University of Cambridge and director of its Institute of Criminology. This 688-year-old murder 'provides us with further evidence about the entanglement of the clergy in secular affairs — and the very active role of women in managing their affairs and their relationships,' Dr. Hannah Skoda, an associate professor of medieval history in St. John's College at the UK's Oxford University, told CNN in an email. 'In this case, events dragged on for a very long time, with grudges being held, vengeance sought and emotions running high,' said Skoda, who was not involved in the research. The new clues about Forde's murder provide a window into the dynamics of medieval revenge killings, and how staging them in prestigious public spaces may have been a display of power, according to Eisner. Eisner is a cocreator and project leader of Medieval Murder Maps, an interactive digital resource that collects cases of homicide and other sudden or suspicious deaths in 14th century London, Oxford and York. Launched by Cambridge in 2018, the project translates reports from coroners' rolls — records written by medieval coroners in Latin noting the details and motives of crimes, based on the deliberation of a local jury. Jurors would listen to witnesses, examine evidence and then name a suspect. In the case of Forde's murder, the coroner's roll stated that Fitzpayne and Forde had quarreled, and that she persuaded four men — her brother, two servants and a chaplain — to kill him. On that fateful evening, as the chaplain approached Forde in the street and distracted him with conversation, his accomplices struck. Fitzpayne's brother slit his throat, and the servants stabbed Forde in the belly. Only one of the assailants, a servant named Hugh Colne, was charged in the case and imprisoned at Newgate in 1342. 'I was initially fascinated by the text in the coroner's record,' Eisner told CNN in an email, describing the events as 'a dream-like scene that we can see through hundreds of years.' The report left Eisner wanting to learn more. 'One would love to know what the members of the investigative jury discussed,' he said. 'One wonders about how and why 'Ela' convinces four men to kill a priest, and what the nature of this old quarrel between her and John Forde might have been. That's what led me to examine this further.' Eisner tracked down the archbishop's letter in a 2013 dissertation by medieval historian and author Helen Matthews. The archbishop's accusation assigned severe punishments and public penance to Fitzpayne, such as donating large sums of money to the poor, abstaining from wearing gold or precious gems, and walking in her bare feet down the length of Salisbury Cathedral toward the altar, carrying a wax candle that weighed about four pounds. She was ordered to perform this so-called walk of shame every fall for seven years. Though she seemingly defied the archbishop and never performed the penance, the humiliation 'may have triggered her thirst for revenge,' the study authors wrote. The second clue that Eisner unearthed was a decade older than the letter: a 1322 investigation of Forde and Fitzpayne by a royal commission, following a complaint filed by a French Benedictine priory near the Fitzpayne castle. The report was translated and published in 1897 but had not yet been connected to Forde's murder at that point. According to the 1322 indictment, Fitzpayne's crew — which included Forde and her husband, Sir Robert, a knight of the realm — smashed gates and buildings at the priory and stole roughly 200 sheep and lambs, 30 pigs and 18 oxen, driving them back to the castle and holding them for ransom. Eisner said he was astonished to find that Fitzpayne, her husband and Forde were mentioned in a case of cattle rustling during a time of rising political tensions with France. 'That moment was quite exciting,' he said. 'I would never have expected to see these three as members of a group involved in low-level warfare against a French Priory.' During this time in British history, city dwellers were no strangers to violence. In Oxford alone, homicide rates during the late medieval period were about 60 to 75 deaths per 100,000 people, a rate about 50 times higher than what is currently seen in English cities. One Oxford record describes 'scholars on a rampage with bows, swords, bucklers, slings and stones.' Another mentions an altercation that began as an argument in a tavern, then escalated to a mass street brawl involving blades and battle-axes. But even though medieval England was a violent period, 'this absolutely does NOT mean that people did not care about violence,' Skoda said. 'In a legal context, in a political context, and in communities more widely, people were really concerned and distressed about high levels of violence.' The Medieval Murder Maps project 'provides fascinating insights into the ways in which people carried out violence, but also into the ways in which people worried about it,' Skoda said. 'They reported, investigated and prosecuted, and really relied on law.' Fitzpayne's tangled web of adultery, extortion and assassination also reveals that despite social constraints, some women in late medieval London still had agency — especially where murder was concerned. 'Ela was not the only woman who would recruit men to kill, to help her protect her reputation,' Eisner said. 'We see a violent event that arises from a world where members of the upper classes were violence experts, willing and able to kill as a way to maintain power.' Mindy Weisberger is a science writer and media producer whose work has appeared in Live Science, Scientific American and How It Works magazine. She is the author of 'Rise of the Zombie Bugs: The Surprising Science of Parasitic Mind-Control' (Hopkins Press).
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Medieval cold case is a salacious tale of sex, power, and mayhem
Researchers have uncovered handwritten letters, court documents, and a coroner's report related to the nearly 700-year-old cold case murder of a medieval priest. Published on June 5 in the journal Criminal Law Forum, the investigation draws on direct archival evidence from Cambridge University that is helping fill in the gaps to a high-profile true crime scandal that would make headlines even today. But despite a mountain of firsthand accounts, the murder's masterminds never saw justice. On Friday, May 3, 1337, Anglican priest John Forde began a walk along downtown London's Cheapside street after vespers (evening prayers) shortly before sunset. At one point, a clergyman familiar to Forde by the name of Hasculph Neville approached him to begin a 'pleasant conversation.' As the pair neared St. Paul's Cathedral, four men ambushed the priest. One of the attackers then proceeded to slit Forde's throat using a 12-inch dagger as two other assailants stabbed him in the stomach in front of onlookers. The vicious crime wasn't a brazen robbery or politically motivated attack. It was likely a premeditated murder orchestrated by Ela Fitzpayne, a noblewoman, London crime syndicate leader—and potentially Forde's lover. 'We are looking at a murder commissioned by a leading figure of the English aristocracy. It is planned and cold-blooded, with a family member and close associates carrying it out, all of which suggests a revenge motive,' Cambridge University criminology professor Manuel Eisner explained in a statement. To understand how such a brutal killing could take place in daylight on a busy London street, it's necessary to backtrack at least five years. In January 1332, the Archbishop of Canterbury sent a letter to the Bishop of Winchester that included a number of reputation-ruining claims surrounding Fitzpayne. In particular, Archbishop Simon Mepham described sexual relationships involving 'knights and others, single and married, and even with clerics in holy orders.' The wide-ranging punishments for such sinful behavior could include a prohibition on wearing gold and other precious jewelry, as well as large tithes to monastic orders and the poor. But the most humiliating atonement often came in the form of a public walk of shame. The act of contrition involved walking barefoot across Salisbury Cathedral—England's longest nave—in order to deliver a handcarried, four-pound wax candle to the church altar. What's more, Archbishop Mepham commanded that Fitzpayne must repeat this penance every autumn for seven years. Fitzpayne was having none of it. According to Mepham's message, the noblewoman chose to continue listening to a 'spirit of pride' (and the devil), and refused to abide by the judgment. A second letter sent by the Archbishop that April also alleged that she had since absconded from her husband, Sir Robert Fitzpayne, and was hiding in London's Rotherhithe district along the Thames River. Due to this, Archbishop Mepham reported that Ela Fitzpayne had been excommunicated from the church. But who tipped the clergy off to her indiscretions? According to Eisner's review of original documents as part of the Cambridge University Institute of Criminology's Medieval Murder Maps project, it was almost certainly her ex-lover, the soon-to-be-murdered John Forde. He was the only alleged lover named in Archbishop Mepham's letters, and served as a church rector in a village located on the Fitzpayne family's estate at the time of the suspected affair. 'The archbishop imposed heavy, shameful public penance on Ela, which she seems not to have complied with, but may have sparked a thirst for vengeance,' Eisner said. 'Not least as John Forde appears to have escaped punishment by the church.' But Forde's relationship with the Fitzpaynes seems to have extended even more illicit activities. In another record reviewed by Eisner, both Ela Fitzpayne and John Forde had been indicted by a Royal Commission in 1322. The crime–assisting in the raid of a Benedictine priory alongside Sir Fitzpayne. They and others reportedly assaulted the priory a year earlier, making off with around 18 oxen, 30 pigs, and 200 sheep. The monastery coincidentally served as a French abbey's outpost amid increasing tensions between France and England in the years leading up to the Hundred Years' War. Archbishop Mepham was almost certainly displeased after hearing about the indictment of one of his own clergy. A strict administrator himself, Mepham 'was keen to enforce moral discipline among the gentry and nobility,' added Eisner. He theorizes that Forde copped to the affair after getting leaned on by superiors, which subsequently led to the campaign to shame Ela Fitzpayne as a means to reassert the Church's authority over English nobility. Forde, unfortunately, was caught between the two sides. 'John Forde may have had split loyalties,' argued Eisner. 'One to the Fitzpayne family, who were likely patrons of his church and granted him the position. And the other to the bishops who had authority over him as a clergy member.' Archbishop Mepham ultimately wouldn't live to see the scandal's full consequences. Fitzpayne never accepted her walk of shame, and the church elder died a year after sending the incriminating letters. Eisner believes the Fitzpaynes greenlit their hit job on Forde only after the dust had seemingly settled. It doesn't help their case three bystanders said the man who slit the rector's throat was none other than Ela Fitzpayne's own brother, Hugh Lovell. They also named two family servants as Forde's other assailants. Anyone waiting for justice in this medieval saga will likely be disappointed. 'Despite naming the killers and clear knowledge of the instigator, when it comes to pursuing the perpetrators, the jury turn[ed] a blind eye,' Eisner said. Eisner explained the circumstances surrounding an initial lack of convictions were simply 'implausible.' No one supposedly could locate the accused to bring to trial, despite the men belonging to one of England's highest nobility houses. Meanwhile, the court claimed Hugh Lovell had no belongings available to confiscate. 'This was typical of the class-based justice of the day,' said Eisner. In the end, the only charge that ever stuck in the murder case was an indictment against one of the family's former servants. Five years after the first trial in 1342, Hugh Colne was convicted of being one of the men to stab Forde in the stomach and sentenced to the notorious Newgate Prison. As dark and sordid as the multiyear medieval drama was, it apparently didn't change much between Ela Fitzpayne and her husband, Sir Robert. She and the baron remained married until his death in 1354—when she subsequently inherited all his property. 'Where rule of law is weak, we see killings committed by the highest ranks in society, who will take power into their own hands, whether it's today or seven centuries ago,' said Eisner. That said, the criminology professor couldn't help but concede that Ela Fitzpayne was an 'extraordinary' individual, regardless of the era. 'A woman in 14th century England who raided priories, openly defied the Archbishop of Canterbury, and planned the assassination of a priest,' he said. 'Ela Fitzpayne appears to have been many things.'
