Medieval Britain Flashcards
What was Medieval Britain like?
- Church taught that sinners would be punished in hell.
- Most people were peasants who worked for the lord of the manor.
- Lords ruled large parts of the land and helped the king in battles.
- England was divided into counties; each one was controlled by a sheriff.
- Society followed a hierarchy: peasants at the bottom and the king at the top, with clergy and lords in between.
- People believed God appointed each king and each king relied on the loyalty of local people to uphold the law.
- Most people were illiterate and lived in small communities, which caused loyalty and friction.
- The law stated the adult men had to keep weapons in case they were called to war.
- Peasants houses were simple structures and many people didn’t own much.
- People relied on the land for food and work: if the harvest failed some people could starve.
What was crimes like?
- Felonies (serious crimes) such as murder and stealing expensive goods (worth more than 12d), would lead to severe punishment such as hanging.
- People most feared gangs of robbers, generally outlaws (people who were on the run to escape the law), who would ambush travellers and burgle houses.
- Petty crimes included getting into debt and doing limited harm to a person or property. -Occasionally laws were passed against dice and football as the Church argued that they encouraged idleness.
- The majority of crimes were non-violent and theft was by far the most common crime.
- Later on in the 15th century crime grew as rebellious rich landowners used their retainers (private armies) to control their local area. This kind of problem grew worse during the Wars of the Roses (1465-85).
- There was terrible famine across England in the 14th century when harvests failed. Hunger and debt increased the crime rate.
What were homicide rates like?
- Sudden deaths had to be reported to a coroner. A few months after this, the homicide case went to trial. Homicide included justifiable homicide, homicide in self-defence, accidental homicide, suicide and murder.
- Suicide was considered a serious crime because the church taught that only God could decide when a persons life should end.
- Records suggested over half of medieval homicides stemmed from arguments.
- Strip farming involved people working very close to each other, with heavy tools to hand and no real medical care, which helps to explain the high homicide rates. Arguments were worse during harvest.
What new crimes emerged?
- Vagrancy (when people wondered from place to place in search of work) became a problem after the Black Death of 1348 killed over half of the population. The resulting shortage of workers led to cases of debt and theft.
- In 1351, Parliament passed a law that required all able-bodied men to swear that they would stay and work in their home village. In 1388, it became illegal for a labourer to leave their hundred without written permission.
- Medieval manors were free to devise their own laws and punishments. After 1350, scolding (crime of using offensive or abusive speech in public) appeared. It spread steadily after this date was applied mainly to women.
- In 1351, treason (crime of plotting against your monarch or country) was clearly defined. It included a women killing her husband, as men were thought to be the head of a family. Counterfeiting coins was also considered to be treason.
- Heresy (spreading beliefs not allowed by the Church) became a major crime after 1500. The Church feared that people such as Lollards might go to hell of they were free to interpret Christs teachings.
How was law enforced?
- The king was in overall charge of keeping the ‘kings peace’. The Statute of Windsor (1285) shaped law enforcement in England for hundreds of years.
- Two chief constables of the hundred ( supervised law and order in their area) ensured every free man between 15 and 60 was ready to take up arms to support the king. They were usually wealthy farmers.
- Adult men were grouped into tithings; if one of the men in the group broke the law the men in the tithing had to bring him to court.
- The Sheriff (the king’s chief law enforcer in each county) was a powerful lord who often took a share of the property of convicted murderers.
- A parish constable (law enforcement officer in charge of a village) had to ensure his parish responded properly to a crime and could supply armed men when needed.
- The Sheriff had an armed posse (a group of local men) to help him track down criminals that local groups had failed to find.
- Watchmen patrolled towns at night and arrested and handed over suspicious individuals to the constable in the morning. It was an unpopular job.
What was the court system like?
- Royal courts heard the most serious criminal cases and were overseen by a paid judge. Jurors were drawn from the criminals local area.
- From 1293, royal judges visited each county 2 or 3 times a year to try cases of serious crime in county assizes.
- From 1361 Justices of the Peace (JPs) took over hundred courts by judging people in their own courts. After 1388, they did this 4 times a year at quarter sessions.
- Manor courts dealt with most crimes in England, including offences by the lords villeins and from 1250 all petty crimes that affected the local community such as thefts and fights. The court was run by the lord and wealthy villagers made up the jury.
- Towns had borough courts which had a similar role to hundred courts.
- Church courts dealt with crimes that were considered to be un-Christian , such as priests having sex, same-sex relationships and failure to attend church. There were no juries and priests heard the evidence and passed judgement.
Why were medieval juries often unwilling to convict?
- Jurors used their knowledge of the accused background to reach their verdict.
- Jurors had to know as much as possible about a case before it went to court.
- The judge accepted the jurors verdict and few court cases lasted longer than 20 minutes.
- Medieval juries were quite lenient in serious offences as punishments were harsh.
What were the punishments for petty crimes?
- The king received fines paid at the hundred court and the quarter sessions, and the lords received fined from the manor courts.
- Mayors and town leaders took the fines imposed by borough courts and the Church kept fines for sins such as gambling.
- Public humiliation included forcing women accused of scolding to sit in public on a cucking stool.
- Public humiliation also included putting traders in the stocks or the pillory for cheating customers by selling faulty goods.
- Prisoners were used to keep those waiting for trial or to punish debtors, forgers, or those who had falsely accused someone at trial.
- Prisoners and to pay the gaoler for bedding, food and drink. Rich prisoners stayed in luxury rooms in castles. Poor prisoners were often found begging, chained up outside a goal.
What were the punishments of serious crimes?
- Hanging involved slow strangulation. It was used for crimes such as murder and burglary and robbery.
- After 1275, hanging was also used for rape and theft of goods worth more than 12d. Before 1350, there were local variations on hanging, such as being thrown from the cliffs at Dover.
- Hanging, drawing and Quartering was used to punish common people committing high treason (plotting to kill the king) and counterfeiting coins.
- Being burned alive was used to punish petty treason (such as wife killing her husband) and heresy, such as the beliefs of the lollards.
- For all cases of serious crime, the criminals property was passed to the king. Innocent victims or their families never regained their valuables.
How did people avoid punishments?
1) Criminals could run away to avoid a trial and join an outlaw gang.
2) Criminals could stay in a church or cathedral to avoid a trial: these places offered sanctuary. Staying there for 40 days and nights meant they could confess and then abjure the realm (leave England forever).
3) If a criminals had powerful friends such as a member of the jury at the manor courts or the local lord this could help them avoid trial.
4) Sometimes prisoners refused to plead guilty or not guilty. They were sent back to gaol to live on rotten bread and dirty water. This way, they avoided the king getting their property, but would be likely to die a long, unpleasant death.
5) Jurors at assize courts often knew the criminal on trial and would try to help. Strangers were more likely to be hanged than local people.
6) To avoid being executed even when found guilty, criminals could buy a pardon from the king, although this was only helpful for the wealthy.
7) Kings often pardoned criminals in times of war if they agreed to join the kings army.
8) A death sentence was often changed to a fine for pregnant women even if they had been found guilty.
9) Criminals could also claim the benefit of clergy (priests were given this option as only the Church could try them and the Church didn’t execute people). This involved reading a verse from the Bible aloud while begging God for mercy. Illiterate criminals would learn the verse by memory. This didn’t benefit women, as they couldn’t become priests.
10) Criminals could become a kings approver, which involved providing the court with evidence against other criminals. If they were found guilty the accuser would be let off their own sentence.
