Like any big city, London had its fair share of crime.
In 1195 Richard of Devizes, a monk from Winchester, claimed: ‘… whatever evil or malicious thing that can be found in any part of the world, you will find in that one city.’ He lists many undesirables including ‘extortionists’ – perhaps one of these used the set of loaded dice (see object below) to trick unsuspecting players.
City records from later in the period give fascinating details of the kind of crimes that are still familiar – robbery, drunken fighting and forgery. As it was the fashion for men to wear daggers, these drunken fights often ended in serious injury or death.
