This study of the patterns of homicide in London, Bristol, and five English counties from 1202 to 1276 reveals that homicide was a very frequent social phenomenon in medieval England and, indeed, that violence was regarded as an acceptable, and often necessary, facet of life.  Using quantitative and computer methods, the author analyzes homicide as a social relationship that can tell us much about medieval life and social organization that might otherwise remain unknown or mysterious. 
  Among the chief topics investigated are: the frequency of homicide; the conflicts between family members, masters and servants, and neighbors that produced murder; the way these groups cooperated with one another in assaulting others; the social and economic statuses of killers and their victims; the treatment of accused killers in court and how verdicts reflected social attitudes toward violence; the effects of urbanization on patterns of homicide; and some of the general cultural and social factors that encouraged or impeded the use of violence.