Adam the Leper was the leader of a fourteenth-century robber band, operating in

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

in the 1330s and 1340s. Like the north Midlands bandits Eustace Folville and James Cotterel, he and his gang specialised in

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...

, especially directed against the royal court and its agents. Unlike these contemporaries, he seems to have concentrated mainly on urban centres. The best documented of his crimes involved a night-time attack against a London merchant with ties to

Philippa of Hainault Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted as regent in 1346,Stricklan ...

, Queen consort of Edward III. According to Luke Owen Pike, while the trader was holding a number of the queen's jewels in safekeeping, Adam and his gang laid siege to his house, demanding Philippa's property be surrendered to them. When the man refused, his house was set alight, and the treasure seized by force. This was the most serious loss of royal property through criminal seizure since Richard of Pudlicott's attack on the

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

of Edward I in 1303. Adam appeared to have died in the early 1360s.Donaldson, pp. 6-7.

Notes

Sources

* Donaldson, W. (2002), ''Rogues, Villains and Eccentrics'', Phoenix:London. . * Pike, L. O. (1873), ''A History of Crime in England: Illustrating the Changes of the Laws in the Progress of Civilisation'', Smith, Elder and Co.: London. {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam the Leper 14th-century criminals 1360 deaths Medieval English criminals English outlaws 14th-century English people Year of birth unknown Medieval thieves