Sex, Power And A Medieval Murder: Priest's 1337 Death Mystery Finally Solved

NDTV

06-06-2025

A cold case in England appears to be solved after nearly 700 years. A research team from the Cambridge University Institute of Criminology's Medieval Murder Maps project did a comprehensive analysis of the priest John Forde 's murder case details. The priest was killed in May 1337 when some assailants slit his throat on a busy city street. The research team found that Mr Forde's murder was calculated and was an act of revenge by an elite woman.
The Medieval Murder Maps project is a database of unnatural deaths in England during the 14th century.
Manuel Eisner, who is a criminologist at the University of Cambridge, recently studied the details that can be termed as the reopening of the case after nearly seven centuries.
Eisner, the study author, studied coroners' rolls and church archives for his research. The latest findings tell a tale of a gruesome murder - a medieval reality that looks like a Hollywood crime thriller.
As per the findings, a woman named Ela Fitzpayne was accused of multiple affairs, including with Forde. She was punished with barefoot walks of shame across Salisbury Cathedral. She was also banned from wearing gold, pearls or precious stones. A large sum was asked to be paid to monastic orders.
"We are looking at a murder commissioned by a leading figure of the English aristocracy. It is planned and cold-blooded, with a family member and close associates carrying it out, all of which suggests a revenge motive," said Manuel Eisner as quoted by Cambridge University.
"Attempts to publicly humiliate Ela Fitzpayne may have been part of a political game, as the church used morality to stamp its authority on the nobility, with John Forde caught between masters," he said.
What exactly happened?
Eisner found in another record that Fitzpayne had even conspired with her husband and John Forde to lead a gang of extortionists. It happened around the time of these allegations. The gang is said to have raided a church priory and broken into buildings. They held livestock to ransom.
As per Eisner, the Forde's murder could have been a show of strength in order to remind the clergy of the power of the nobility.
The records suggest that Ela's lover Forde was a member of the crime gang, but ultimately became a part of her denouncement by the church, which could have been the reason behind his murder, with one of the killers recognised as Fitzpayne's brother. Two others were her recent servants.
"Attempts to publicly humiliate Ela Fitzpayne may have been part of a political game, as the church used morality to stamp its authority on the nobility, with John Forde caught between masters," Eisner said.
"Taken together, these records suggest a tale of shakedowns, sex and vengeance that expose tensions between the church and England's elites, culminating in the mafia-style assassination of a fallen man of god by a gang of medieval hitmen," Eisner added.