Customer Reviews

The Great Crown Jewels Robbery of 1303: The Extraordinary Story of the First Big Bank Raid in History

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Paul Doherty's The Great Crown Jewels Robbery of 1303: The extraordinary story of the first big bank raid in history, is a well-researched account of a historical incident that I suspect most people, like myself before reading the book, have never even heard of. It was a crime of remarkable audacity: planning and then carrying out a robbery of the King's treasury. Especially when the King in question is Edward I, a man known for his ruthless determination and vindictiveness towards those who crossed him and not at all for being merciful. He was, after all, the king who had William Wallace of Braveheart fame "stripped naked and dragged through the city at the heels of a horse... hanged, drawn and quartered -- strangled by hanging but released whilst he was still alive, emasculated, eviscerated and his bowels burnt before him, beheaded, then cut into four parts. His preserved head (dipped in tar) was placed on a pike atop London Bridge." One had to have considerable balls to steal from this King, particularly when one of the many punishments involved losing them.

Doherty did a remarkable amount of research for this book, drawing on all the available resources from the period that could be found. This is one of the problems with writing about anything from this period as the written sources are frequently few and far between and often limited in their details. But Doherty does a good job of working with what he had, and of putting things into the context of the times. For example, it wasn't just a matter of someone making off with the crown jewels and other valuables from the King's private treasure. The robbery occurred while the King was away pursuing his war with Scotland and was in fact threatening to impact his pursuit of that war:

"Finally, if Drokensford [the King's chief investigator into the robbery] was acquainted with the horrors of war, he was also acquainted with its cost. Edward I was desperate for money, searching for it through loans, taxes and extra customs dues and a variety of other schemes.... Accordingly, the royal treasure hoard, containing hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of precious goods, was vital to the King. Edward could raise loans on its security -- so the robbery not only inflicted a terrible blow to the royal pride but also to the royal pocket."

The author also does a good job of showing the limits of royal power and the conflicts that existed where judicial authority was concerned, between the church and the nobility, and between the king and the rising municipal authorities of the city of London. The manner in which the investigation was carried out reflects the jealously guarded boundaries of authority that existed in England of the early 14th century and is quite interesting reading. Doherty also shows how the conflicts of interest of various figures, from Abbot Wenlok of Westminster Abbey, some of whose monks were active participants in the robbery, to the sheriff of London, Hugh Pourte, who was too familiar by far with some of the guilty parties, played a role in how the robbery came to happen and how the pursuit and prosecution of those involved was handled after it was discovered.

My only complaint about the book is the manner in which Doherty chose to relate the tale. Instead of following a more or less straightforward chronological account, the book is laid out more like a version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales where the focus goes from one historical figure to another according to the role they played in events, with chapters designated "The King's Tale", "The Monk's Tale", "The Clerk's Tale", and so on. So the story is related from different angles, filling in the details as it goes, but in a rather non-chronological way which I feel got in the way at times of forming the best picture of exactly what went on.

That said, however, I think this is a very worthwhile book, a highly interesting read about what was in fact one of the most remarkable, if little known, robberies in history. Highly recommended.

This is a very interesting account of a crime about which I knew absolutely nothing, so I was hooked to see if the criminals got caught and punished. Think an "Oceans 11" heist staged by a bunch of 1303 ruffians and monks. The medieval quotes have been modernized, so the prose of the entire book is easy to read (although sometimes a little too repetitious). There is a lot of quoting from contemporary documents to remind us that we are not reading fiction.

Along with the crime, we get details of everyday life in London, some of which are real eye-openers, as are descriptions of combat (England versus Scotland). People who dislike medieval monks will find reinforcement here. Descriptions of how certain criminals were executed will alarm people with delicate sensibilities.

This is a good read for people who want some unknown history without any dry prose or dull lecturing.

Engrossing, lively, fascinating. Whether you are a mystery buff or are partial to history, this book combines the best of both worlds. The period and people (villians and heros)are vividly portrayed. with the history and the crime coming alive.

If it's medieval, it usually gets my attention, particularly if it's non-fiction. Being totally unfamiliar with the robbery of the Royal Treasury in 1303, I appreciated the many angles from which Doherty explored the incident and its ramifications. The politics of the era were complex indeed, particularly in the areas where Church and State butted against each other. I fell that Doherty did an excellent job of unraveling that tangled web to make it as clear as possible to modern minds. Unfortunately, the book stumbles when Doherty gets into his own theories about the motivations of some of the players in the robbery. True, there are plenty of places where the record supports his speculations, but there are also plenty of places where there just isn't enough evidence to make the call. At those places, it becomes just a bit too obvious that Doherty is reaching, which distracts from an otherwise fine book. It's still well worth reading, though.