Sartore on Outlawry

Karen Tani at the Legal History Blog posts about what looks like an interesting new book, Outlawry, Governance, and the Law in Medieval England, by Melissa Sartore.  Here is a link to the part of the publisher's site that describes the book, and here is a link to an excerpt from the book.

According to the synopsis provided on the publisher's website:

Outlawry, Governance, and Law in Medieval England evaluates the role of exclusionary practices, namely outlawry, in law and governance in England from the tenth through the thirteenth centuries. Traditional historical narratives dismiss exile, outlawry, and banishment as ineffective and weak methods of maintaining social order. More specifically, the present volume reassesses these forms of exclusion in matters of politics, law, and society, as well as their influence on increased use of imprisonment in later medieval England. Outlawry, Governance, and Law in Medieval England is essential reading for scholars working in this field but is also highly recommended as a text for courses that assess medieval law and the practice of outlawry as well as the development of English Common Law.

And from the excerpt, here is a bit more detailed version of the book's thesis:

How did actions against wrongdoers in Anglo-Saxon England such as exile, banishment, and outlawry, transition to the widespread use of gaols and prisons in the administration of the English common law in the late thirteenth century? The processes of exclusion, namely outlawry, defined as the action of declaring a person to be outside the protection of the law; exile and banishment, or enforced removal from the land according to an edict or sentence; and abjuration of the realm (or a town), an oath to leave an area forever, were soon supplanted and supplemented with various forms of imprisonment, the condition of being kept in captivity or confinement and forcible deprived of personal liberty. This work explores the movement from outlawry, exile, and banishment to the emergent use of imprisonment in medieval England. 

From the late tenth through the thirteenth centuries outlawry held an essential place within political and legal practices in medieval England. Contrary to the dominant narrative which sees the rise of imprisonment as a progressive response to the older modes of outlawry and exile, this project argues that the older exclusionary processes actually facilitated the transition to systems of authority, law, and order grounded in the use of imprisonment. Outlawry and exile were such strong, effective processes resistant to control by royal authority that the Crown was forced to adapt and innovate in response, specifically with the use of imprisonment.

I am no expert in the history of the common law, but I have had the opportunity to take an abbreviated seminar on the subject which has been an illuminating and enjoyable experience. Last year, I also found the time to read Njal's Saga, where outlawry is presented as a constant threat hanging over the saga's wrongdoers.  Since reading that book, the historical practice of outlawry has intrigued me, and this book looks like a promising study of the subject.