Officers of the Law Officers of the Law Author Alyssa Hubbert Supervising Editor Kate McPherson Editor Kate McPherson Copy Editor Leah Hamby Senior Encoder Leah Hamby Encoding and Metadata LEMDO Team Copyright Holder (Content) Kate McPherson Copyright Holder (XML and interface) University of Victoria Early Modern England Encyclopedia EMEE

Anthology Leads: Kate McPherson and Kate Moncrief.

 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Utah Valley University

Released with Early Modern England Encyclopedia 1.0a

 University of Victoria on the Linked Early Modern Drama Online Platform

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Early Modern England Encyclopedia

By Alyssa Hubbert, inspired by Michael Best’s Shakespeare’s Life and Times, Internet Shakespeare Editions

Encoded in TEI P5 according to the LEMDO Customization and Encoding Guidelines

This document uses Canadian English spelling

 Document Types All documents in LEMDO are either born-digital documents or primary documents. Within those two general categories, LEMDO offers additional ways to categorize a file. Born-digital Born-digital documents are anything other than primary texts Critical Critical material, such as a general introduction or a textual introduction. Responsibilities Responsibilities Author A person, family, or organization responsible for creating a work that is primarily textual in content, regardless of media type (e.g., printed text, spoken word, electronic text, tactile text) or genre (e.g., poems, novels, screenplays, blogs). Use also for persons, etc., creating a new work by paraphrasing, rewriting, or adapting works by another creator such that the modification has substantially changed the nature and content of the original or changed the medium of expression. LEMDO uses the term author in two contexts: (1) to indicate the author of a primary work or document (such as Hamlet), and (2) to indicate the author of a secondary text (such as the Critical Introduction to <title level="m">Hamlet, by David Bevington). Editor A person, family, or organization contributing to a resource by revising or elucidating the content, e.g., adding an introduction, notes, or other critical matter. An editor may also prepare a resource for production, publication, or distribution. For major revisions, adaptations, etc., that substantially change the nature and content of the original work, resulting in a new work, see author. LEMDO uses the general term editor only in edition metadata and only to indicate when a person is responsible for editing all parts of an edition. Otherwise, use the more granular terms to describe the precise nature of the editorial role. Supervising Editor An editor who supervises the work of a student editor. Copy Editor LEMDO uses the term owner for the person who checks facts, quotations, and citations; may make formatting changes; may convert from one citation style to another; may suggest wording changes; and enforces conformity with the project style guide. Markup Editor A person or organization performing the coding of SGML, HTML, or XML markup of metadata, text, etc. Gloss needed. Copyright Holder A person or organization to whom copy and legal rights have been granted or transferred for the intellectual content of a work. The copyright holder, although not necessarily the creator of the work, usually has the exclusive right to benefit financially from the sale and use of the work to which the associated copyright protection applies. Normally the editor is the copyright holder for an LEMDO edition. EMEE Keywords Culture Learn about the customs, beliefs, and daily lives of people in early modern England. Daily Life Assizes Crime Law Punishment Social Order Trials Published file. Updated metadata proofed Review of article finished. updated author respStmt. Created File. Michael Best Michael Best

Michael Best is Professor Emeritus at the University of Victoria, BC. He founded the Internet Shakespeare Editions in 1996, and was Coordinating Editor until 2017, contributing two editions to the ISE: King John and King Lear (the latter also available in print from Broadview Press). In print, he has published editions of works of Elizabethan magic and huswifery, a collection of letters from the Australian goldfields, and Shakespeare on the Art of Love (2008). He contributed regular columns for the Shakespeare Newsletter on Electronic Shakespeares, and has written many articles and chapters for both print and online books and journals, principally on questions raised by the new medium in the editing and publication of texts. He has delivered papers and plenary lectures on electronic media and the Internet Shakespeare Editions at conferences in Canada, the USA, the UK, Spain, Australia, and Japan.

 Leah Hamby Leah Hamby

Leah Hamby is the primary encoder for the Early Modern England Encyclopedia. Aside from encoding, she also works as an editor for the project and contributed several articles of her own. She has been working on the EMEE since February 2023. As of February 2026, she is soon to graduate with honours from Utah Valley University with a major in history and a minor in creative writing. Her other work with the LEMDO program includes remediating William Kemp’s Kemp’s Nine Day’s Wonder for the Digital Renaissance Editions.

 Navarra Houldin Navarra Houldin

Training and Documentation Lead 2025–present. LEMDO project manager 2022–2025. Textual remediator 2021–present. Navarra Houldin (they/them) completed their BA with a major in history and minor in Spanish at the University of Victoria in 2022. Their primary research was on gender and sexuality in early modern Europe and Latin America. They are continuing their education through an MA program in Gender and Social Justice Studies at the University of Alberta where they will specialize in Digital Humanities.

 Alyssa Hubbert Alyssa Hubbert

Alyssa Hubbert was a student at Utah Valley University.

 Kate McPherson Kate McPherson

Kate McPherson is Professor of English and Honors Program Director at Utah Valley University (Orem, UT, USA). In 2015, she began working to redevelop Shakespeare’s Life and Times, created by Michael Best, into the Early Modern England Encyclopedia. Her other publications include commentary on Pericles and The Comedy of Errors for the New Oxford Shakespeare (2016); the co-edited volumes Stages of Engagement: Drama and Religion in Post-Reformation England with James Mardock (Duquesne University Press, 2014) and Shakespeare Expressed: Page, Stage, and Classroom in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries, with Kathryn M. Moncrief and Sarah Enloe (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2013). With Kathryn M. Moncrief, Kate has also two edited collections, Performing Pedagogy in Early Modern England: Gender, Instruction, and Performance (Ashgate, 2011) and Performing Maternity in Early Modern England (Ashgate 2008). She has also published numerous articles on early modern maternity in scholarly journals. Kate participated in the 2008 National Endowment for the Humanities Institute, Shakespeare’s Blackfriars: The Study, the Stage, the Classroom, at the American Shakespeare Center. She also served as Play Seminar Director, a public humanities position, for the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 2017 and 2018.

 LEMDO Team The LEMDO Team is based at the University of Victoria and normally comprises the project director, the lead developer, project manager, junior developers(s), remediators, encoders, and remediating editors. University of Victoria https://www.uvic.ca/
Overview

During the early modern period, England had various types of law enforcement and enforcers. An officer’s reach of power during the 16th and 17th centuries depended mainly on their rank. The title of sheriff, undersheriff, bailiff, or justice of the peace gave these men charge of law and order, keeping town and community peace, and other various regulations within their local jurisdiction.

Sheriff

Sheriff was by far the most recognized law enforcer during England’s 16th and 17th centuries. During the reign of William I the Conqueror, starting in 1066, the ecclesiastical and secular courts were separated. This left the sheriff as the head of office in secular law enforcement. The sheriff led military forces, investigated criminal accusations, and arrested or detained the people accused of crime. The sheriff was also responsible to truthfully represent all information regarding the region or county which they oversaw to the Crown and its representatives.

Undersheriff

The undersheriff was second in command directly after the sheriff. Their job was to oversee law enforcement issues if the sheriff was unavailable. Like the sheriff, the undersheriff represented the Crown and delivered all relevant information regarding the county which they served to the Crown if need arose.

Bailiff

When the role of bailiff was created, the title was respected. But because their primary responsibility was collecting fares and fees (taxes), the reputation of bailiffs declined over time. Additionally, some bailffs worked privately for a nobleman, to oversee estate land or property and accompanying buildings. Outside of property and personal roles, bailiffs also oversaw the protection of those in court while the court was in session and assisted with legal processes.

Justice of the Peace

The justice of the peace was an appointed position from the Crown for a county. It was a rank given mainly to local gentlemen. They primarily oversaw small criminal cases in a magistrate’s court or petty session as the need arose, delivering larger matters to the judges of the assizes or the quarter sessions (see below for more on these courts). The position arose from the Justice of the Peace Act of 1361 in England and Wales. Their duties included: keeping of the peace restraining offenders, rioters, and barators (brawlers) pursuing, arresting, taking, and chastising offenders, rioters, etc., according to their wrongdoings

Quarter Sessions

In order to manage more major civil and criminal cases, counties held an assize court session quarterly, sometimes in cooperation with neighboring counties. The introduction of these court sessions began in 1327 under the rule of Edward III and were not abolished until 1971. Each quarter session was overseen by two justices of the peace and a clerk of the peace. During these hearings, the justices of the peace heard the evidence regarding the accused and assigned punishments in consultation with a jury. All cases reviewed during these sessions were non-capital crimes, ones not punished by the death penalty, such as theft, fraud, and assault.

Assizes

The courts of assize dealt with capital crimes such as murder, burglary, highway robbery, forgery, and rape, and with major civil cases regarding property and inheritance. They were overseen by judges who came from outside the county, usually from London, on a prescribed geographic circuit. They were held twice a year in provincial towns to help spare litigants the expense and difficulty of traveling to London.

Examples in Shakespeare

Officers of the law populate many plays of the period, including those by Shakespeare.

Shakespeare’s Histories: Henry IV—sheriff, justice of the peace (Robert Shallow) Henry V—sheriff History of King John—sheriff (minimal stage character) Richard III—Sheriff of Wiltshire King Lear—officers

Shakespeare’s Comedies: The Comedy of Errors—officer Twelfth Night—officers The Merry Wives of Windsor—Robert Shallow Much Ado About Nothing—chief of police (Dogberry)

The example of Dogberry is an interesting one. He is a chief of police in the play Much Ado About Nothing. Often in Shakespeare’s plays, the role of officer helps the continuation of the plot. However, Dogberry is not used as a plot device to help the more important characters develop; instead, he is used as a tool for humor. Dogberry’s regular use of malapropism, the use of an incorrect word in place of another, similar sounding word) elevates the humorous aspect of the play as well as helps to increase audience interaction.

Key Print Sources Hartley A.J. Introduction: The Shakespeare Police. In: The Shakespearean Dramaturg. Palgrave Macmillan, 5 Nov. 2005. Zurcher, Andrew. Shakespeare and Law. The Arden Shakespeare. 2009.
Key Online Sources Best, Michael. Officers of the Law: The Arrest. Shakespeare’s Life and Times. Internet Shakespeare Editions. University of Victoria. https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/history/crime%20and%20the%20law/officers.html. Accessed 12 Sep. 2018. Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Bailiff. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 12 Apr. 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/bailiff. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018. Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Justice of the Peace. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 12 Apr. 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/justice-of-the-peace. 19 November 2018. Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Quarter Sessions. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 25 Jan. 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/quarter-sessions. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018. Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Sheriff. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 11 Apr. 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/sheriff. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018. Hasted, Edward. General history: The Office of Sheriff. The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: vol 1. Canterbury, W Bristow, 1797, pp. 168–176. British History Online. 20 Nov. 2018. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol1/pp168-176. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018. Justices of the Peace Act 1361. Legislation.gov.uk. 15 Jul. 2017. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Edw3/34/1. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018. William Shakespeare – Introduction—Law and Justice. Shakespearean Criticism, Ed. Kathy D. Darrow, vol. 49. Gale Cengage, 2000. eNotes.com. https://www.enotes.com/topics/william-shakespeare/criticism/law-and-justice/introduction. Accessed 13 Sep. 2018.