ABSTRACT
Several records, dating from 1318 to 1322, note proceedings relating to the allegation of Agnes de Haldenby that, in 1317, she had been subjected to a break-in, robbery and extreme personal violence. Although women are frequently mentioned in records and reports, there are profound difficulties in knowing the extent to which people can ‘hear’ their actual words or sentiments. The issue of women’s ‘voice’ in such documents is complex, showing traces of the accents of both general social attitude and also specific legal frameworks. Distortions of the levels of participation and initiative by those involved in a case can also be affected by common law conventions and rules relating to married women, who could not generally take legal action without the participation of their husbands. The voice of all litigants was constrained by the man-made forms of the common law, the formulaic writs, the rules of pleading and of proof.
