Quidditas Volume 39 Article 6 2018 The Evolution of Personal Pledging for the Freemen of Norwich, 1365-1441 Ruth H. Frost University of British Columbia Okanagan Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/rmmra Part of the Comparative Literature Commons, History Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Renaissance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Frost, Ruth H. (2018) "The Evolution of Personal Pledging for the Freemen of Norwich, 1365-1441," Quidditas: Vol. 39 , Article 6. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/rmmra/vol39/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Quidditas by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. Quidditas 39 94 The Evolution of Personal Pledging for the Freemen of Norwich, 1365-1441 Ruth H. Frost University of British Columbia Okanagan This paper examines the evolution of the personal pledging system used by newly admitted freemen, or citizens, of Norwich between 1365 and 1441. It argues that in the late fourteenth century new freemen chose their own sureties, and a large, diverse body of men acted as their pledges. The personal pledging system changed early in the fifteenth century, however, and from 1420 to 1441 civic office holders, particularly the sheriffs, served as the vast majority of pledges. This alteration to the pledging system coincided with changes to the structure and composition of Norwich’s government, and it paralleled a decrease in opportunities for the majority of Norwich’s freemen to participate in civic government.1 On September 14, 1365, thirteen men came before Norwich’s assembly and swore their oaths as new freemen of the city.2 They promised to pay entrance fees ranging from 13s.