Bertha Haven Putnam (1872 – February 26, 1960) was an American historian, specialising on the

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...

and administrative history of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

England. Putnam grew up in Philadelphia, the daughter of

George Haven Putnam George Haven Putnam A.M., Litt.D. (April 2, 1844 – February 27, 1930) was an American publisher, soldier, and writer. He was the president of G. P. Putnam's Sons for its first 52 years, from 1872. Biography The eldest son of publisher George Pal ...

, author and publisher, and son of the publisher

George Palmer Putnam George Palmer Putnam (February 7, 1814 – December 20, 1872) was an American publisher and author. He founded the firm G. P. Putnam's Sons and ''Putnam's Magazine''. He was an advocate of international copyright reform, secretary for many years ...

. She attended

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

, and got her bachelor's degree in 1893. She later taught at the

Brearley School The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, located on the Upper East Side neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan. The school is divided into lower (kindergarten – grade 4), middle (grades 5–8) and upper (grades 9– ...

in New York City, before getting her doctorate from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1908. She started teaching at

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

in 1908, and was made professor in 1924. Here she remained until her retirement in 1937. Her career, from Bryn Mawr to Holyoke, ran parallel to that of Nellie Neilson, a fellow medievalist. She also worked closely with

Eileen Power Eileen Edna Le Poer Power (9 January 18898 August 1940) was a British economic historian and medievalist. Early life and education Eileen Power was the eldest daughter of a stockbroker and was born at Altrincham, Cheshire (now part of Great ...

and

Helen Cam Helen Maud Cam, , FRHistS (22 August 1885 – 9 February 1968) was an English historian of the Middle Ages Life and career Cam was born at Abingdon, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). Educated at home by her father William Herbert Cam, the head ...

. An attack of

shingles Shingles, also known as zoster or herpes zoster, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. ...

left her partially blind in the late 1940s. Putnam died of

arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis is the thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of Artery, arteries. This process gradually restricts the blood flow to one's organs and tissues and can lead to severe health risks brought on by atherosclerosis ...

South Hadley South Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. South Hadley is home to Mount Holyoke Colleg ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in 1960. Her main focus was the office of the

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, and how it developed from the

Conservator of the Peace In ancient British customs, Conservators of the Peace (Latin: ''Custodes pacis''), or Wardens of the Peace, were individuals who had a special charge, by virtue of their office, to see that the Peace (law), King's peace was kept. England The 18th ...

in the early- to mid-14th century. In particular she proved the importance of the

Statute of Labourers The Statute of Labourers was a law created by the English parliament under King Edward III in 1351 in response to a labour shortage, which aimed at regulating the labour force by prohibiting requesting or offering a wage higher than pre-Plague sta ...

in giving these officers the right to decide cases, and thereby establishing them as justices. The change was sanctioned by the Statute of Westminster of 1361. Some of her main contentions, particularly that this process represented a radical devolution of judicial authority to the localities, have since been challenged.Musson and Ormrod, pp. 2-3.

Bibliography

*
The Enforcement of the Statutes of Labourers during the first decade after the Black Death, 1349-1359
'. (1908). * ''Early Treatises on the Practice of the Justices of the Peace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries''. Clarendon Press: Oxford (1924). * ''Kent Keepers of the Peace, 1316-1317''. (ed., 1933) * ''Yorkshire Sessions of the Peace, 1361-1364''. (ed., 1939) * ''The Place in Legal History of Sir William Shareshull, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 1350-1361: A Study of Judicial & Administrative Methods in the Reign of Edward III''. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge (1950)

References

Sources

* (Login required) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Putnam, Bertha 1872 births 1960 deaths American women historians American medievalists Women medievalists Legal historians Bryn Mawr College alumni Columbia University alumni Mount Holyoke College faculty Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America American women legal scholars American legal scholars