Sara M. Butler is Professor of History at Loyola University New Orleans. She has written on the subjects of marital violence, suicide, abortion, and divorce in medieval England. In 2007, she was awarded the Sutherland Prize by the American Society for Legal History.
...by effectively framing the inquest socially and legally, her book makes a convincing case for a fundamental shift in the history of coronership and, opening up a wonderful set of sources, it tables fresh questions about medieval life, justice and knowledge. - Silvia De Renzi, Open University 'Butler's understanding of the Coroners' Rolls (their final reports to the Crown) is pro-found, detailed, imaginative, and sympathetic. What emerges is a portrait of the coroner as, in the main, con-scientious and honest...In sum, Butler's latest book, based on a deep knowl-edge of the primary sources, is an excellent study of a ne-glected institution of English medieval law and govern-ment.' - Faith Wallis, McGill University, American Historical Review