License To Kill: Letters of Marque in the Middle Ages

Have you ever wished for the opportunity to get away with something that would usually entail some caliber of consequence? Be it when we were 8 or even in our late 80s, we all have that guttural feeling to do something we aren’t supposed to every once and a while. We have the thought, “Oooooh if only that weren’t illegal or socially divergent, I’d totally do it!” or more likely, “Oooooh you have wronged me good sir and I wish to take my revenge!” But alas, our current legal and social systems are too stingy and don’t want us going around enacting our own manner of vengeful justice. It’s like they’re afraid that people will get hurt or something; REDICULOUS! Well if you’re like me and you’re tired of not being able to take out Batman-like vigilante revenge on your own, then CONGRADULATIONS! You may be among the incredibly minute percentage of our population who would have preferred living in the Middle Ages; if only for a little perk known as the law of marque.

The law of marque was an international system of dealing with grievances similar to those mentioned above; the law has origins dating back to the 9^th century and was even practiced up into the 19^th. Formally, the law of marque revolved around the acquisition of letters of marque or reprisal that, straight from the encyclopedia, “authorized their possessor(s) to seize property owned by citizens or subjects of a territorial state or civic polity in retaliation for that polity’s failure to furnish ‘justice,’ in the form of restitution, for a previous injury inflicted by its subjects or citizens” (Friendman & Figg). That’s a bit of a mouthful I know, so informally the law of marque revolved around the acquisition of letters of marque to legally take action against hostile nations or pirates. Be it by seizing cargo and splitting the proceeds with the crown, such as under the rule of King Henry III of England in the 13^th century, or in other ways taking reprisal (I suppose that wasn't any simpler of a definition) (Hammond); which was obviously right up everyone’s ally! 

In Western Europe, those active in commerce often sought these letters to legitimate forays against the aforementioned assailants and they were often a remedy in cases of robbery, abduction, and commercial disputes (Friendman & Figg). For example, around 1300 A.D., the recently widowed Margery Russell, whom had just inherited her husbands import-export business in Coventry, England, had one of her ships, laden with 800+ English pounds of goods, was knocked off whilst in route (León). Suspecting Spanish pirates, she requested letters of marque  from the English court against Santander, Spain, the port of said pirates. These letters enabled her to forcefully (with English legal backing) claim the holds of two Spanish ships; their value's representing substantially more than her stolen goods. Unfortunately, in this sense letters of marque were often used as a business tactic, which caused much legal anguish from the Spaniards (León). These letters were essentially the modern equivalent of a 007-esque legal license to kill; although these letters didn't necessarily imply the necessity of killing...but I'm sure that wasn't all too regulated given the circumstances.

Citations:

Hammond, Willian C. “Letter of Marque.” Historic Naval Fiction, David Hayes, www.historicnavalfiction.com/general-hnf-info/naval-facts/letter-of-marque.

León, Vicki. Uppity Women of Medieval Times. MJF Books, 1998.

Friedman, John Block, and Kristen Mossler Figg, editors. Trade, Travel, and Exploration in the Middle Ages An Encyclopedia. Routledge, 2014.