New research into petitions and petitioning in the middle ages, illuminating aspects of contemporary law and justice.The mechanics, politics and culture of petitioning in the middle ages are examined in this innovative collection. In addition to important and wide-ranging examinations of the ancient world and the medieval papacy, it focuses particularly on petitions to the English crown in the later middle ages, drawing on a major collection of documents made newly accessible to research in the National Archives. A series of studies explores the political contexts of petitioning, the broad geographical and social range of petitioners, and the fascinating "worm's-eye" view of medieval life that is uniquely offered by petitions themselves; and particular attention is given to the performative qualities of petitioning and its place in the culture of royal intercession. With their vivid new insights into judicial conventions and the legal creativity spawned by political crisis, these papers provide a closely integrated assessment of current scholarship and new research on these most fascinating and revealing of medieval social texts. CONTRIBUTORS: W. MARK ORMROD, GWILYM DODD, SERENA CONNOLLY, BARBARA BOMBI, PATRICK ZUTSHI, PAUL BRAND, GUILHEM PEPIN, ANTHONY MUSSON, SIMON J. HARRIS, SHELAGH A. SNEDDON, DAVID CROOK

Introduction: Medieval Petitions in Context - W. Mark OrmrodParliamentary Petitions? The Origins and Provenance of the 'Ancient Petitions' [SC8] in the National Archives - Gwilym DoddPetitioning in the Ancient World - Serena ConnellyPetitioning between England and Avignon in the First Half of the Fourteenth Century - Barbara BombiPetitions to the Pope in the Fourteenth Century - Patrick ZutshiUnderstanding Early Petitions: An Analysis of the Content of Petitions to Parliament in the Reign of Edward I - Paul BrandPetitions from Gascony: Testimonies of a Special Relationship - Guilhem PépinMurmur, Clamour and Noise: Voicing Complaint and Remedy in Petitions to the English Crown, c.1300-c.1460 - W. Mark OrmrodQueenship, Lordship and Petitioning in Late Medieval England - Anthony MussonTaking Your Chances: Petitioning in the Last Years of Edward II and the First Years of Edward III - Simon J HarrisWords and Realities: The Language and Dating of Petitions, 1326-7 - Shelagh SneddonA Petition from the Prisoners in Nottingham Gaol, c.1330 - David CrookThomas Paunfield, the 'heye Court of rightwisnesse' and the Language of Petitioning in the Fifteenth Century - Gwilym Dodd