A Medieval Chancery Case of Mental Health and a Monster

Abstract

Chancery records of medieval England record an interaction between two men,
one disguised as a monster. The first man, William, asks the second to disclose his
real identity and when he only growls, William kills him. The details of this case
are recorded in the letters patent, which were sent out to the public to address
particular legal and royal matters that everyone needed to know. William, the
record tells the reader, had a mental health condition, and Augustine, the second
man, refused to act human even when William asked him “in the name of God” to
do so. This article explores several issues, including how William and Augustine
know what monsters looked and acted like, how medieval English law defined
monsters, and what medieval people understood about mental health.