The office of coroner was established in England in 1194; it has had an unbroken history, and has been exported to many countries, including the United States. At the zenith of his power, in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, the coroner was concerned with many aspects of law and local administration, and with some of the most tragic and dramatic episodes of medieval life. Coroners - 'keepers of the pleas of the crown' - had to be knights or substantial landowners; they were required to hold inquests on victims of suicide or violent death, receive abjurations of the realm (ceremonial undertakings by felons in sanctuary to leave the country), hear appeals and confessions of felony, and legalise any exactions, outlawries or subsequent pardons. Their responsibilities included the arrest of suspects and the safeguarding of property subject to forfeit; the coroners' rolls contained the written records of many official proceedings.

The office of coroner was established in England in 1194; it has had an unbroken history, and has been exported to many countries, including the United States. At the zenith of his power, in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, the coroner was concerned with many aspects of law and local administration, and with some of the most tragic and dramatic episodes of medieval life. Coroners - 'keepers of the pleas of the crown' - had to be knights or substantial landowners; they were required to hold inquests on victims of suicide or violent death, receive abjurations of the realm (ceremonial undertakings by felons in sanctuary to leave the country), hear appeals and confessions of felony, and legalise any exactions, outlawries or subsequent pardons. Their responsibilities included the arrest of suspects and the safeguarding of property subject to forfeit; the coroners' rolls contained the written records of many official proceedings.

Discover the Medieval origins of the office of Coroner, today's Medical Examiner. From it's earliest beginnings in the obscured,depths of the Middle Ages, the Medieval Coroner played an important role as the King's man in the local community. Once consolidated, the duties of the Coroner were wide and varied and required exceptional men who were loyal, honest, fair, obedient, and diligent. Venture back centuries into the past to discover where the office of Coroner originated, who were the men who served in this position, what were the requirements for office and why could they be removed, what were their assets and how were they ranked in terms of wealth in relations to others in the community, and finally, what types of service did these men perform in addition to their duties as Coroner. Everything you ever wanted to know about the office of Medieval Coroner in a concise book.

England has traditionally been understood as a latecomer to the use of forensic medicine in death investigation, lagging nearly two-hundred years behind other European authorities. Using the coroner's inquest as a lens, this book hopes to offer a fresh perspective on the process of death investigation in medieval England. The central premise of this book is that medical practitioners did participate in death investigation – although not in every inquest, or even most, and not necessarily in those investigations where we today would deem their advice most pertinent. The medieval relationship with death and disease, in particular, shaped coroners' and their jurors' understanding of the inquest's medical needs and led them to conclusions that can only be understood in context of the medieval world's holistic approach to health and medicine. Moreover, while the English resisted Southern Europe's penchant for autopsies, at times their findings reveal a solid understanding of internal medicine. By studying cause of death in the coroners' reports, this study sheds new light on subjects such as abortion by assault, bubonic plague, cruentation, epilepsy, insanity, senescence, and unnatural death.

Introducing crusader turned county coroner Sir John: the first book in the page-turning Crowner John medieval mystery series, set in twelfth-century England. 1194. Appointed by Richard the Lionheart as the first coroner for the county of Devon, Sir John de Wolfe, recently returned from the Crusades, rides out to the lonely moorland village of Widecombe to hold an inquest on an unidentified body found in a stream. But on his return to Exeter, the new coroner is incensed to find that his own brother-in-law, Sheriff Richard de Revelle, is intent on thwarting the murder investigation – particularly when it emerges that the dead man is both a Crusader and a member of one of Devon’s finest and most honourable families. Assisted by his loyal bodyguard Gwyn and his new clerk, defrocked priest Thomas, Sir John sets out to solve the mystery – whatever the cost.