ABSTRACT
We have seen something of the pattern of early modern crime and of the array of courts operating at the time. But what of the territory in between? Was there a satisfactory system of bringing people to court once a crime had been committed? And were there in place mechanisms to put the rulings of the court into effect once a decision had been made? It is the purpose of this chapter to suggest that by the close of the sixteenth century there was in existence a sophisticated and many-layered system of law enforcement and that, if anything, this system became more complex and effective as time went by.
