US EditionRecords suggest vengeful noblewoman had priest assassinated in 688-year-old cold case
- John Forde, a priest, was fatally stabbed by a group on a busy London street near St Paul's Cathedral on 4 May 1337.
- The killing followed years of public penance imposed on noblewoman Ela FitzPayne, who had adulterous ties with Forde and likely ordered the attack as revenge.
- Forde's throat was cut with a foot-long dagger by Hugh Lovell, FitzPayne's brother, while two former servants stabbed him in the belly before an evening crowd.
- Professor Eisner called the crime a 'planned and cold-blooded' act reflecting tensions between church discipline and noble power, supported by a 33-man jury despite no full justice.
- The investigation highlights medieval power struggles and public humiliation dynamics, suggesting the murder served as a brutal message about elite authority nearly 700 years ago.
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In 1337 a churchman died on a busy street in London. Contemporary documents now reveal the background to a spectacular case
·Vienna, Austria
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Total News Sources15
Leaning Left1Leaning Right1Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution71% Center
Bias Distribution
- 71% of the sources are Center
71% Center
14%
C 71%
14%
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