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Mobility, law and sedition: the rise and impact of vagrancy in late medieval England Andrew William Hamilton (24169596) PUREID: 631654389 Vagrant vagabond mobility rogue Robin Hood beggar mobile labourer labour medieval early modern England literary Piers Plowman Manor Courts enforcement 1388 Statute Cambridge Statute fifteenth century This thesis explores the evolution of the figure of the vagrant in legal, literary, and economic contexts in England from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. In so doing, it seeks to challenge the traditional narrative that vagrancy was purely a post-Black Death concern tied to labour shortages, arguing instead that vagrancy was a multifaceted concept shaped by broader societal, political, and cultural forces. The study examines how vagrancy laws, chroniclers, and literary works like Piers Plowman contributed to the construction and regulation of the vagrant figure, which was used by elites to enforce social order, manage economic disruptions, and control marginalised populations. In so doing, this thesis is indebted to New Historicism. It integrates legal texts, literary analysis, and documentary records to examine the intertextuality between legislative measures and cultural depictions of vagrancy. This methodology allows for a comprehensive understanding of how themes of mobility, rebellion, and labour control were interwoven into both government policy and literary narratives. Further, it allows us to consider how images were disseminated between genres and where they originated. We find that vagrancy images were not only a response to economic conditions, but also a tool used by medieval authorities against various social, political and religious or moral concerns. This developed into a socially and culturally constructed figure which held far more significance than mere commentary on contemporary labour crises, and which instead influenced societal attitudes toward poverty, mobility, governance and rights to religious expression. These findings allow better understanding of how past societies controlled the marginalised and reflection on their application into the modern period. As to the vagrant figure itself, we find an image deployed nationally and locally to maintain social hierarchies, regulate labour, and castigate sedition; and, in some cases, criticise these narratives. And, underneath, we see glimpses of England’s genuine mobile poor. Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2027. 2026-10-01T16:28:00Z Text Thesis 10.17034/32640828.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Mobility_law_and_sedition_the_rise_and_impact_of_vagrancy_in_late_medieval_England/32640828 All Rights Reserved Open Access after 2027-07-31