Two Elizabethan exposés of the criminal underworld are reprinted here in their original spelling: John Awdeley’s Fraternity of Vagabonds and Thomas Harman’s Caveat for Common Cursitors. They name and describe the types of beggar and cheat on the Tudor roads, from counterfeit cranks to pallyards, with their cant and their tricks, and add a mock sermon in praise of thieves.
A vivid primary source on the low life that Shakespeare and his contemporaries knew. Download the free EPUB.