From around the second half of the fourteenth century to the middle of the sixteenth century, York regularly hosted the Corpus Christi Play. More commonly known today as the ‘Mystery …
Historians have different theories about the origins of the Corpus Christi Play. In this video, Dr Tim Wingard explains the two main theories and how researchers can reach different answers …
The story of Joan of Leeds is one of the most colourful examples of apostasy in York’s history. In this video, Dr Marianne Wilson explores the history of Joan and …
The priory from which Joan of Leeds had fled, Clementhorpe Nunnery, was the only religious community for women in the immediate vicinity of York during the Middle Ages. (The Bar …
Immigration was more common in late medieval England than many people expect. In this video, Dr Tim Wingard introduces the context of immigration in England and how medieval historians use …
In the middle of the fifteenth century, around 1.6% of York’s population was born outside of England. These immigrants came from many different places and worked in a variety of …
When a monk or a nun left their religious house without explicit permission, this was called ‘apostasy’. In this video, Dr Sethina Watson explains how the laws of the medieval …
Below are summaries of causes from the York Church courts which can give us an idea about what types of actions and behaviours constituted crimes according to the Church. Defamation …
In this video, Dr Marianne Wilson explains the background to the poem, ‘An Exhortation to the Nobles and Commons of the North’, which was written by a Dominican friar, John …
The biography written by Margaret Clitherow’s chaplain, John Mush, is a key source for her life and the way in which her memory has been preserved. In this video Professor …
Cause Papers are the papers from individual causes or cases that were heard in ecclesiastical courts throughout the diocese of York. Gary Brannan introduces the Cause Papers collection, held at …
In the medieval and early modern periods, the Church courts had control over a wide variety of matters that affected the everyday lives of ordinary people, not only issues relating …
Introducing Margaret Clitherow Religious change was an important cause of religious crime in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Margaret Clitherow is famous for being nicknamed the ‘pearl of York’ because …
Margaret Clitherow refused to conform to the Protestant religious settlement and, over a period of years, received a range of punishments. Dr Rachel Delman highlights the ways in which Margaret …
The Break with Rome Until the sixteenth century, Catholicism had been the established religion in England for centuries, under the leadership of the Pope in Rome. In 1527 Henry VIII …