Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations and conventions
- 1 Introduction: mercy and the state
- 2 Changing approaches to punishment and mitigation
- 3 Changing approaches to the pardon
- 4 Patronage, petitions, and the motives for mercy
- 5 Public performances of pardon
- 6 Protest and pardons
- 7 Conclusion
- Appendix I Sources
- Appendix II Benefit of the belly
- Bibliography
- Index
- Titles in the series
6 - Protest and pardons
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations and conventions
- 1 Introduction: mercy and the state
- 2 Changing approaches to punishment and mitigation
- 3 Changing approaches to the pardon
- 4 Patronage, petitions, and the motives for mercy
- 5 Public performances of pardon
- 6 Protest and pardons
- 7 Conclusion
- Appendix I Sources
- Appendix II Benefit of the belly
- Bibliography
- Index
- Titles in the series
Summary
In 1590, Sir John Smythe implored Lord Burghley to intervene with judges who allowed criminals to go free “under pretence of pity and mercy or favoring of life (as they miscall it).” Echoing the common belief that small crimes led to greater sins if not corrected, Smythe worried that such lenience not only emboldened people to offend, but also to turn to serious offenses that threatened the very basis of society. He cited as examples the Jacquerie in France, the Hungarian peasants' rebellion, and the violent troubles in Spain, warning that “commonly the beginnings are very small and therefore lightly regarded, but once begun, they suddenly grow great, and then turn all to fire and blood.” For Smythe, mercy prompted rebellion. Yet, throughout the Tudor period, the Crown used the pardon to defuse mass protest, trading mercy for a public display of deference and submission. Indeed, the majority of people who received royal grants of grace did so during and after the period's rebellions. These pardons had many of the same uses and meanings as those granted after murders, thefts, and other violations of the peace. Like them, the pardons after revolts sought to maintain not just “order,” but also a certain kind of social order.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Mercy and Authority in the Tudor State , pp. 163 - 199Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003