Introducing Medieval Maintenance

Abstract

When nonspecialists ask me about the topic of this book, usually I begin with an admittedly imperfect analogy: the Mob. “Imagine that you’re in Chicago in the 20s or 30s,” I say, “and the Mob is everywhere.” I point out that the Mob may own the police or the judges in your area, leading some to receive “more” justice than others. However, your corner grocer may have connections, too, and so his store is better stocked than those in other neighborhoods. Maybe you face less street crime in your neighborhood than some because the Mob’s watching your area. From your perspective, the Mob does bad things: it kills people, and it corrupts government and law. But at the same time you recognize that the Mob does good things as well: it can make obtaining goods and social services easier and less expensive, and may curtail some kinds of crime.1 “Now imagine,” I tell my listeners, “that the Mob is everywhere, and that there’s not just one, but many, throughout the cities and across the countryside. That’s medieval England. That’s what this book is about.”KeywordsLiterary CriticStreet CrimeService RelationshipLegal FictionCivil DeathThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.