that Goda had been mad several times and in her madness she was rambling and running
about in Horsham and in adjacent towns [dicunt quod ipsa pluries in furiositate sua erat vagans
et discurrens in predicta villa de horsham et in villis adjacentibus]. Similarly, to Matilda, Goda
had been found wanting to submerge herself in ditches filled with water and again was only
stopped when passers-by intervened. The jury affirmed that at the time in which she killed her
children, Goda was mad and therefore she was to return to prison to await the decision of the
King as to what should be done. 19 Although, the record does not elaborate on the King’s
decision, it can be inferred that she would have received a pardon.
In 1329, the Nottinghamshire Eyre details the case of Anabilla, the wife of William
Carter of Bulcote. She was described as being out of her mind and feverish when she killed
her son and two daughters. 20 Alice, daughter of John, was indicted in 1342. It was said that
Alice was in a state of madness and insanity when she killed her daughter Joanna. The record
states that Joanna was feloniously slain and thus Alice was liable for the death. In spite of the
clear crime committed, Alice received a pardon. 21 The King’s bench record of 1344 lists the
case of Alice, wife of Reginald of Tibthorpe, who had succumbed to the grip of a dementia and
had been suffering from madness for some time before strangling her daughter Alice. The jury
declared that Alice lacked all sense and reason; her madness was so severe that she could
not differentiate between good and evil. 22 All three of the women were granted pardons.
Agnes, wife of Roger Moyses was accused of killing their son Adam. It was known that Agnes
suffered from repeated episodes of madness [amentia] prior to the killing. Similarly, Emma,
wife of Henry Wolfrom of Centele, had experienced feelings of being demented and vexed. As
a consequence of her madness, she had killed her child. 23 All of these women who had
committed infanticide and were found to be insane, were acquitted and pardoned.
However, single women were not so fortunate. 24 Single women often struggled to
support themselves and would almost certainly be unable to provide for a child. Single women
were a sign of disorder and posed a threat to society; deviating away from social norms such
as marriage and from religious doctrine by having children outside of wedlock. As well as this,
they faced enormous economic pressures and were dependent upon themselves to provide
for them and any illegitimate children. Due to these social, religious and economic issues,
single women accused of infanticide were less likely to be pardoned for the crime and to be
declared insane despite their insistence. One example of this is the case of Sabina de
TNA: JUST 3/125, m.10, 1330.
TNA: JUST 1/683, m. 33d, 1329.
21 TNA: JUST 3/135, m. 17d, 1342.
22 TNA: King’s Bench 27/335, m. 17d, 1344.
23 Barbara. Westman, ‘The Female Felon in Fourteenth Century England’, Viator, 5, (1974), 264
24 Martin. Keniston McIntosh, Controlling Misbehaviour in England, 1370-1600, (Cambridge, 1998),
191
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