The Act 7 Ric 2 c 5 (1383), sometimes called the Beggars Act, the Vagrancy Act, or the Vagabonds Act 1383, was an Act of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

made at Westminster in 1383, after the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

(1381). The Act empowered Justices of Assize,

Justices 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 ...

or county

sheriffs A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

bind over In the law of England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions, binding over is an exercise of certain powers by the criminal courts used to deal with low-level public order issues. Both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court may issue ...

vagabonds Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, tempora ...

for good behaviour, or to commit them to the

assizes The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

if sureties could not be given. The effect of this Act was modified by a proclamation of 18 February 1493, which is included in the

patent roll The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day. Description The patent rolls comprise a register ...

PR (C66/574/4d), and by the Act 11 Hen 7 c 2 (1495) The Act was extended to Ireland by Poyning's Law (10 Hen 7 c 22). The Act was repealed as to vagabonds by the Act 39 Eliz 1 c 4 (1597). The Act was repealed as to England by section 11 of the Act 21 Jac 1 c 28 (1623). The Act was virtually repealed by the Vagrancy (Ireland) Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict c 84). The Act was repealed as to Ireland by section 1 of, and the Schedule to, the

Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872 The Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict c 98) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which repealed, as to Ireland, certain Acts of the Parliament of England which had been extended to the then Lordship of Ireland by ...

(35 & 36 Vict c 98). Tomlins gives the title of this Act as "For Punishment of Vagabonds". Ruffhead and Pickering give the title as "Justices, &c. shall examine Vagabonds, and bind them to their good abearing, or commit them to Prison", The Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1872 describes the this Act as "Justices shall examine Vagabonds" and ''The Law Reports: Public General Statutes'' says this is the subject matter. The ''Chronological Table'' gives this Act the title "Vagabonds". The Act includes references to faitors (feitors), drawlatches and roberdesmen.Thomas Wright (ed), "Roberdes knaves", The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, 2nd Ed, 1887, vol 2
p 506
Skeat (ed), The Vision concerning Piers the Ploughman, 1886, vol 2
p 7

References

*''Tudor Constitutional Documents, AD 1485-1603'', by J.R. Tanner. Cambridge University Press, 1951. p. 469. *C J Ribton-Turner. A History of Vagrants and Vagrancy, and Beggars and Begging. Chapman and Hall. London. 1887. Page
58
and 59. *C G Hall. A Legislative History of Vagrancy in England and Barbados. (Contemporary Caribbean Legal Issues
Issue No 2
. University of the West Indies, Faculty of Law. 1997. Pages 4 and 6. *James Fitzjames Stephen. A History of the Criminal Law of England. Macmillan & Co. London. 1883. Volume 3. Page
267
and 268. *James Birch Sharpe. An Inquiry into the Origin of the Office and Title of the Justice of the Peace. Shaw and Sons. London. 1841
Page 25
*Philip Rawlings. Policing: A short history. Willan Publishing. 2002
Page 46
*J A Cannon. "Vagrancy Acts". John Cannon and Robert Crowcroft (eds). The Oxford Companion to British History. Second Edition. 2015
Page 920
*A H Thomas (ed). Calendar of Select Pleas and Memoranda of the City of London. At the University Press. Cambridge. 1932
Page 6
*Hedges and Winterbottom. The Legal History of Trade Unionism. Longmans, Green & Co. 1930. Page 4
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External links

* {{UK legislation 1380s in law 1383 in England Acts of the Parliament of England Repealed English legislation Poverty in England

See also

References

External links