Although verging on the progressive, Richard II presents a rudimentary version of this procedure when Bolingbroke listens to testimony regarding the death of the Duke of Glouster. This trial, like that of treason, was considered a criminal offence and, therefore, scholar J.H. Barker would posit that a petty jury was warranted based upon a breach of the king's peace as he writes, "[t]he classical form of the 'petty jury' appeared first in criminal suits, where its use was warranted by the complaint of a breach of kings peace" (73). During this trial, Bolingbroke hears the testimony from Bagot, who accuses the Duke of Aumerle of conspiring to kill the Duke of Glauster. Both men throw down their gages and, once again, a trial by combat arises
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However, at this point, Bolingbroke's return from banishment and removal of Richard II from power by rallying the people and the army around him, lead him to this point. He stands to act as judge in this case, while the jury presents a myriad of fact that cannot be determined without the testimony of the late Mowbray. In these lines, Bolingbroke promises a trial that the audience never witnesses, but one might expect that Bolingbroke would not let this be a trial by combat, reflecting the move toward a true jury …show more content…
Revealing the common interest in the law during Shakespeare's time, the use of legal language within popular works indicates that lawyers were not the only people educated about the parameters of legal trials. The law was accessible to the common people as the scholar Bradin Cormack suggest that, "[t]he passion of Elizabethans for law was impressive compared even to present-day American litigiousness, one estimate suggesting that toward the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign an English population of around 4 million persons was involved in 1 million actions per year", therefore, it is not unreasonable to believe that Shakespeare was well aware of the parameters and historical significance of trials (3). Various terminology and scenarios throughout Shakespeare's works specifically refer to trials and legal agreements. Seeking to incorporate the complicated history of legal language, "Shakespeare responds to the law…as a practice, a body of rules, an idea, a profession, and a discipline…it was everywhere in his culture" (Cormack 3). Taking into account the prevalence of law and legal procedure in the Elizabethan Age, Shakespeare use of legal language to appeal to a legally educated audience, maybe even more so than today as Cormack suggests, creates a clear vehicle for the exploration of law through his
However, at this point, Bolingbroke's return from banishment and removal of Richard II from power by rallying the people and the army around him, lead him to this point. He stands to act as judge in this case, while the jury presents a myriad of fact that cannot be determined without the testimony of the late Mowbray. In these lines, Bolingbroke promises a trial that the audience never witnesses, but one might expect that Bolingbroke would not let this be a trial by combat, reflecting the move toward a true jury …show more content…
Revealing the common interest in the law during Shakespeare's time, the use of legal language within popular works indicates that lawyers were not the only people educated about the parameters of legal trials. The law was accessible to the common people as the scholar Bradin Cormack suggest that, "[t]he passion of Elizabethans for law was impressive compared even to present-day American litigiousness, one estimate suggesting that toward the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign an English population of around 4 million persons was involved in 1 million actions per year", therefore, it is not unreasonable to believe that Shakespeare was well aware of the parameters and historical significance of trials (3). Various terminology and scenarios throughout Shakespeare's works specifically refer to trials and legal agreements. Seeking to incorporate the complicated history of legal language, "Shakespeare responds to the law…as a practice, a body of rules, an idea, a profession, and a discipline…it was everywhere in his culture" (Cormack 3). Taking into account the prevalence of law and legal procedure in the Elizabethan Age, Shakespeare use of legal language to appeal to a legally educated audience, maybe even more so than today as Cormack suggests, creates a clear vehicle for the exploration of law through his