Medieval England (1000 - 1500) Flashcards
What was the role of the king in Medieval England?
Many believed the king was chosen by god (divine right of kings). He controlled the land and how to share it out and protected the country from attack.
What was the role of the nobles in Medieval England?
They were the king’s main supporters and advisors. In return for land they provided the king with knights and military service in times of war. Also expected to control law and order.
What was the role of the church in Medieval England?
People believed in eternal afterlife as well as heaven and hell, therefore the Church was vital to many as it offered ways for a person’s soul to get to heaven. Everybody was expected to attend church, there was a priest in every village. Some tension with the king over the idea of sanctuary
What was the role of the peasants in Medieval England?
Peasants were farmers who worked the land and lived in villages. They worked on the land of the local lord for part of the week and the rest of the week they worked on their own land to feed families. There were close communities and neighbours were well-known. As there was no police, peasants had to take it upon themselves to ensure the village was a lawful place.
What do the key factors in SPERMS stand for?
Social, Political, Economic, Religious, Movement, Science and technology
What were Tithings in Medieval England?
Tithings consisted of a group of 10 men, aged 12 or over, who were responsible for each other’s behaviour. If one person broke the law, the group would be responsible for taking them to court, or they would have to pay a fine.
Tithings helped control behaviour on a local level.
What was hue and cry in Medieval England?
If a crime was committed, the victim would issue a hue and cry, where the entire village was expected to drop their tools and help search for the criminal. If a person did not join in with the hue and cry then the whole village would pay a hefty fine.
The parish constable would lead the hue and cry, they were unpaid and elected yearly - voluntary job. If hue and cry failed and the crime was murder, the parish Constable would inform the coroner (official who runs the court and confirms unnatural deaths), who would inform the Sheriff that a man has been murdered, all unnatural deaths had to be reported.
The sheriff would organise a posse to track down and capture the murderer.
What was trial by local jury in Medieval England?
A jury made up of men from the local village who knew the accuser and the accused would listen to both versions of events and decide who was telling the truth.
What was compurgation in Medieval England?
If there was no clear evidence such as an eyewitness, the jury will decide who is telling the truth by using their own knowledge of the two individuals. If the jury felt that the accuser was more trustworthy than the accused, they would swear an oath (compurgation) that the accused is guilty.
What was Trial by Ordeal and what was it like in medieval England?
The Saxons were a very religious society, if a verdict could not be reached by a local jury then the Saxons would resort to God’s decision by Trial by Ordeal.
The different forms were:
- Trial by hot iron: Taken by women, had to hold a hot iron, if the wound did not start healing after three days then they were guilty.
- Trial by blessed bread: If a person choked on bread then they were guilty, taken by priests
- Trial by cold water: If a person sank below the cold water they were innocent, if they floated on top they were guilty, as God would be rejecting them. However those who were innocent could likely drown.
- Trial by hot water: Hand is placed in boiling water to collect an object, if wound does not start healing after 3 days then they are guilty.
What was wergild in Medieval England?
Wergild was a system of fines, paid by the offender, that served as compensation to the victims of a crime. The system was unequal however, the fine for killing a peasant was less than for killing a freeman. Wergild was in place to prevent further violence from the victim’s family (blood feud).
Wergild was also in action for physical injury, different body parts would be worth different amounts of money. It was later gradually replaced with capital punishment.
What was capital and corporal punishment in Medieval England?
Some serious crimes carried the death penalty, such as treason against the king or lord. This reminded others of the importance of staying loyal to the king.
Reoffenders of crimes were punished with corporal punishment (physical punishment), which involved removing body parts or pillory as an example. Corporal punishment was in place to prevent further offences.
How did Laws, amount of crime, policing methods, punishment and trials change after the Norman Conquest?
Laws: Majority of the Anglo-Saxon Laws were kept the same, however the Forest Laws were added. William wanted to be seen as the rightful successor to Edward the Confessor. People could no longer cut trees for building and people in forests could not own bows and arrows to kill animals. Murdrum fines were also introduced; if a Norman was killed and the murderer was not caught and executed, then the people of the region had to collectively pay a fine. This was introduced because the Normans were low on numbers and not welcomed well by Anglo-Saxons.
Amount of crime: Technically increased, as many disagreed with the Forest Laws and people were willing to turn a blind eye to the crime, as many needed to kill animals for food
Policing methods: The main forces of policing are kept the same as they had proven successful
Punishment: Fines were no longer paid to the victims’ families, they were paid to the king’s officials. Capital punishment is used for a wider variety of crimes including reoffenders.
Trials: Trial by jury was kept as was Trial by Ordeal but Trial by Combat was added. The accused and the accuser would fight to death, or until one could no carry on, they would then be hanged. Church courts were introduced for churchmen, they were much more lenient and could be claimed by anybody who could memorise a few lines of the Bible. Court services were now in French and Latin.
What were church courts?
Church courts were introduced specifically for churchmen. They were biased and never usually punished anybody to death. They also dealt with moral offences.
Church courts were introduced by William the Conquerer because he had wanted to keep the church on his side, as the pope had supported his invasion.
What was benefit of the clergy?
Benefit of the clergy was when an accused person claimed the right to be tried in the more lenient church courts. The church used to test the accused person by getting them to recite a verse from the bible, this became known as the neck verse as many memorised it and escaped being hanged.
