{"id":9752,"date":"2022-02-03T10:05:44","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T09:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=199111"},"modified":"2022-02-03T10:24:09","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T09:24:09","slug":"sanctuary-in-medieval-churches-how-criminals-found-protection-from-capture-and-punishment","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/sanctuary-in-medieval-churches-how-criminals-found-protection-from-capture-and-punishment\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanctuary in medieval churches: how criminals found protection from capture and punishment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Elinor Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 03 February 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Laurence Duket raced to the church of St Mary-le-Bow in London on 26 July 1284. Although only a handful of people initially knew why he sought sanctuary there that evening, everyone in London would come to know of Duket\u2019s story when, five days later, his lifeless body was discovered hanging from a beam inside that church.<\/p>\n

Londoners heard how Duket had attacked Ralph Crepyn in the parish of Westcheap, giving him what the court records say was a \u201cnearly deadly wound\u201d. At the time, Duket thought he had killed Crepyn, an alderman and London\u2019s first recorded town clerk, and fearing he would be hanged for committing homicide he immediately headed to the sanctuary of St Mary-le-Bow.<\/p>\n

Running to a church for protection after committing a crime was not uncommon. People knew to do it. Sanctuary was recognised as a right granted specifically to criminals as an extension of Christ\u2019s mercy. According to contemporary English law, no one could be forcibly removed from the sanctuary of a church \u2013 not even a criminal. And in many places a church\u2019s sanctuary extended beyond the walls of the building and encompassed the entire churchyard.<\/p>\n

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By gaining sanctuary, Duket was protected from those bent on capturing and punishing him. So it was shocking to many that Duket was found dead in the church on the morning of 31 July.<\/p>\n

Initially, Duket\u2019s death was believed to be a suicide. Surely no one would dare to kill someone in a church. But before the coroner had an opportunity to examine Duket\u2019s body and confirm the cause of death, sheriff Jordan Goodcheap had it cut down and buried in a ditch beyond the city walls.<\/p>\n

The story would have ended there had it not been for a boy who had witnessed what happened on the night of 30 July: Crepyn\u2019s friends had snuck into the church, beat and stabbed Duket to death, cleaned the wounds, and then hanged him in an attempt to make it appear as if Duket had taken his own life.<\/p>\n

Listen | Dr Emily Guerry explores the murder of Thomas Becket,\u00a0the archbishop of Canterbury, in his cathedral by four knights acting on what they took to be a command from King Henry II, and why a cult sprang up around Becket almost immediately on the HistoryExtra<\/em> podcast<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n