1250-1500 Flashcards

Question

How to avoid being executed when found guilty?

Answer 1

Buy a pardon from the king, Join the king army, Be pregnant, Claim benefit of clergy and Become a king approver

Answer 2

Nobles who disobeyed the King (Large), Gambling and villages that failed to do hue and cry

Answer 3

Traders who cheated their customers by selling faulty products,

Answer 4

The church court shamed Durham priest for sleeping with a mans wife by publicly admitting his sin

Answer 5

It kept Forgers, debtors, offenders who could not pay fines, and Gaols were rough and gaolers didn’t get paid. Prisoners had to pay for their stay. Richer prisoners may be kept in rooms in castles e.g. Tower of London.

Answer 6

1. Hanging- rape, murder, theft of more than 12d,robbery, burglary. Over 80% of crimes were from non violent crimes. 2. Hung, drawn and quartered – treason, counterfeiting coins 3. Burnt alive – heresy, petty treason (wife kills a husband or servant kills a master) 4. Local variations= In Sandwich you would be buried alive and in Dover pushed off a cliff.

Answer 7

I am the king’s agent and there is a sheriff in each county. I am a powerful lord who does the kings work without pay, as it gives me great status. All property of criminals and those who committed suicide would go to the king, however I would get my share as well. I work closely with the coroners and chief constables.

Answer 8

Chief constables of the hundred. I am appointed each year to supervise law and order in my area and I am a wealthy farmer. From taking on this role I have gained great status. My main duty is to make sure every free man between 15 and 60 is equipped and ready to take up arms to serve the king; this might be in the army or sheriff’s posse (sheriff’s soldiers).

Answer 9

Adult men were grouped into ten called tithings. If one of us breaks the law then we have to bring him to court. Whenever a crime takes place we call for the hue and cry. This meant that all within ear shot had to stop what they were doing and join the hunt for the criminal.

Answer 10

In 1285 Edward I passed the Statute of Winchester that tidied up the law and maintained it for hundreds of years. There is no full time paid police force as it is too expensive. Policing is on a voluntary basis.

Answer 11

I am the parish constable. I am appointed every year and I am responsible for supplying fully armed men when it is needed. From 1363 I had to ensure they practised archery every Sunday. I also have to arrest suspicious strangers.

Answer 12

It is my role to play a part in the quarter sessions, which are held 4 times a year from 1388. My job is to enforce royal law and I am not paid. I took over the sheriffs’ court duties as the sheriff would hold courts only twice a year, whereas in each county we hold them 4 times a year.

Answer 13

My job is to examine bodies and discover the cause of why people have died.

Answer 14

King Edwards Statute of Winchester in 1285 means towns appoint watchmen to patrol the gates and walls at night. Medieval towns could be pitch black at night so watchmen carried lamps. It was an unpopular job and if they discovered criminals they called the hue and cry.

Answer 15

These were for the most serious crimes. The King’s bench, one of the most important royal courts, was found at Westminster. The jurors were always drawn from the criminal’s area. They took an oath to God.

Answer 16

In 1293 Edward I changed how the Royal court worked and he ordered that royal judges from London would visit each county two or three times a year. These courts were called county assizes. They sat until 1971.

Answer 17

The royal courts could not hear all cases – there were too many. From 1363 local gentry acted as judges, called justices of peace (JPs). They held courts 4 times a year, which became known as quarter sessions. They took away some of the work from royal judges, so that cases did not have to wait so long before a trial took place. All types of cases were dealt with, from murder to whether local landowners were paying workers too highly.

Answer 18

These were held by local landowners in their villages or manors. The landowner was the judge. These courts dealt with workers who had not done enough work on the lord’s land or people who had broken other local rules. They also ordered people who had committed serious crimes should be held in prison until they could be tried at one of the royal courts or quarter sessions. By 1250 many manors had also taken over the work of the hundred courts, which meant they judged petty crime that affected the whole community. By 1500 they were losing influence.

Answer 19

These were similar to manor courts. These were town courts. Hundred courts: village courts.

Answer 20

All laws and court proceedings were based on Christian principles. They did not just try clergy but the laity (normal people). There were no jurors in these courts. Church courts had 3 functions: granting marriage licenses and proving wills of the dead, dealt with disputes and dealt with disciplinary matters. Their main role was not to punish people but reform them and reconcile them with God. The aim of reform was shown in the punishments given.

Answer 21

Offences tried in church courts included: scandalous behaviour (gambling, drinking, sexual offences), attacking people, theft, failing to visit the sick, sheltering sheep in the church, swearing etc.