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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Chiming in late on this thread: Deposition books from the Consistory court of the diocese of London (which survive for 1467-76 and 1486-97) indicate that witnesses in Consistory court litigation gave testimony in a number of different locations, mostly in the cathedral complex itself (esp. in the "old palace" and in "domo thesauri" but also in "ecclesia cathedrali"); sometimes in the home of the Official; sometimes in the home of the registrar/scribe; sometimes in London parish churches, esp. when the witnesses were of that particular parish; sometimes in the home of one of the witnesses, especially if that witness was a prominent person. Occasionally proceedings are held in "loco Consistorii" - but whether this refers to one of the more common sites named otherwise, such as the "domo thesauri," or to another site altogether is not clear. So in London, at least, there was no one particular place that was used. I infer also that the extent to which the proceedings were open and public varied according to the venue, and in some cases the witnesses were explicitly examined "secrete et singillatim." (The deposition books are London Metropolitan Archives, MS DL/C/205, and London Guildhall Library, MS 9065/9065B.) When suspected heretics in Coventry were being held and tried in the fall of 1511 by the bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, the suspects were held either in Maxstoke priory (Warwickshire) or possibly in Maxstoke Castle (the record is ambiguous) -- and the proceedings against them, which lasted about six weeks, were held in Maxstoke priory (the records don't indicate precisely where). Further proceedings in January and February 1512 were held in the parish church of Holy Trinity (again, not known precisely where) and in the chapter house of the cathedral church on other occasions. (See *Lollards of Coventry*, p. 5.) Shannon McSheffrey Professor of History Graduate Program Director Department of History, LB-601 Concordia University 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. Montreal, QC CANADA H3G 1M8 [log in to unmask] http://alcor.concordia.ca/~shannon ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html