ABSTRACT
The report of a dower case of 1342, probably that brought by Edith, widow of William Oky, against Henry son of Roger Oky, includes discussion of how to resolve the question of whether or not a man, on whose death depended entitlements to land, was actually dead. Though ideas of ‘judging’ and ‘judicial functions’ are not immutable, varying with the scope of the legal system, and the distribution of tasks and decisions between judges and others such as juries, in general, the most important of the authoritative speakers of the law in the medieval courtroom was the judge, and amongst judges, those at the peak of importance in the common law were the judges of the superior courts at Westminster and other royal tribunals. Potentially more troubling to any claim that there was a blanket rule against women acting as judges were the scriptural, historical and contemporary examples of women having some judicial role.
