Corruption in the Fourteenth-Century English State

Abstract

This article explores manifestations of corruption among local officeholders and royal judges who exercised authority on the king's behalf. It explores the complex and often contradictory perceptions of official malpractice among these men. The king in particular understood the danger of his representatives sullying the crown's reputation. Yet, the measures taken to combat corruption were mostly ineffective and often proved to be empty rhetoric. The discussion shows how new notions of public service and accountability clashed with older forms of social and political organization founded on lordship and hierarchy. It also suggests that it was in addressing and finally tackling corruption that the origins of a “civil service” may be found.