medieval england 1000 -1500 Flashcards
who decided what was a crime in anglosaxon england
The king who issued their own law codes stating waht counted a a crime
what were the three general categories for actions considered to be crimes
- crimes against the person
- crime against property
- crimes against authority
what is crimes against the person and what are some examples
crimes that physically harm the victims
- murder
- violent robbery
- rape
what is crimes against property and what are some examples
crimes that involved theft or damage to someone else possessions
- arson
-theft
what are crimes against authority and what are some examples
crimes that challange people in power like the king or government
- breaking kings peace
- treason
what are examples of moral crimes
blashpemy
what were the aims of anglo-saxon punsihment
deterrence and retribution
how were serious crimes like arson or murder punished in anglo saxon england
by death
- beheading or hanging
how were lesser crimes like false accusations or manufacturing fake coins punished
mutilation
- meant to be a visible deterrent
how were crimes commited by slaves usually punished
by flogging (whipping)
what were some punishments for minor offences like drunkness
- legs locked in stocks
- head and arms in pillory in a public palce
used to deter others through humilliation
what was wergild
a early form of compensation
- for crimes like murder of deliberate injury the accused would have to pay a fine to the victim or family of the victim
what did the amount of wergild payed depend on
- injured: owed the amount of money based on which body part had been wounded
- depended on someones social status e.g had to pay higher for nobleman rather than a peasant
why was wergild good
allowed victims to get revenge without causing bloodshed
- before familys used to get into blood fueds where familys would kill one another for revenge which could continue for decade
why did mutilation act as a deterrent
it caused permanent scars which served as a reminder and a visable deterrent
how did the king play a part in enforcing the law in anglo-saxon england
responsible for creating laws and keeping peace
what were earls and what did they do
power noble men who were granted land from the king
- responsible for enforcing law in that land (earldoms)
- earldoms were vast so local representatives were enforce law in smaller areas
what were shire-reeves and what did they do
noble men chosen to govern a shire on behalf of the king and the earl
- could summon local mean to join a ‘posse comitaus’ to help catch criminals
-attended local shire courts to collect fines
- ensured law was being followed
what are hundreds
small areas in shires
what were reeves and what did they do
they enforced the law in hundreds
- ran local hundred courts and brung criminals to justice
what was the hue and cry
when someone discovered a crime hue and cry was raised
- shouting and making loud noise to alert others
- it was everyone duty to stop what they were doing and search for the wrong doer
how do local communites in anglo saxon england play a large part in law enforcement
- hue and cry
- tithings
what were tithings
small groups of men over the age of 12 who were responsible for the behaviour of everyone in the tithing
- thing man - leader
- the group was responsible for bringing a member to court if they had been accused of a crime
why would tithings want to bring in a wrong doer of the group
the whole tithing could be fined if they failed to bring a accused member to court
what would happen after a criminal was caught
they would be put on trial in a hundred court in front of a group of respected local men and a local offical who heard the case and decided the verdict
how did local people play roles in anglo-saxon
both accused and accuser brought witnesses who stated whether or not a crime had taken place but they didnt provide evidence
how was a trial by compurgation decided
it witnesses agreed that crime was commited accused person could be given trial by compurgation
what was a trial by compurgation
the accused had to swear a oath of innocence
- a certain number of people were gathered to act as compurgators - people who were prepared to swear and oath that the accused was telling the truth of their innocence
how were oaths important
they were taken very seriously so the word of a trustworthy person could be accepted as proof of a innocent person
how was reputation important in anglo-saxon england
whether or not a person was judged to be guilt often depended on their character and of they were trusted by the community - person with poor reputation would be less likely to get enough people to swear that they were innocent
what happened is a court couldnt reach a verdict
trial by ordeal was used
what was the trial of ordeal
a physical test to see if someone was guilty or not - test based on the idea that god is all knowing and reveal their innocence or guilt through the ordeal
where did most trial by ordeals take place
in church apart from trial by cold water
what was the accused made to go through before trail of ordeal
undergo three days of fasting and prayer so they would be pure and ready for Gods judgement
what was trail by hot water and who was it mainly used for
- mainly used for men
- involved the accused plunging arm into boiling water
- if the wound was healing well after three days they were innocent if not then they were guilty
what was trial by cold water and who was it mainly used for
- mainly used for men
- they would be tied up and plunged into a deep pool of cold water that had been blessed by preist
- if they floated god had rejected them and they were guilt
- if they sunk god had accepted them and they were innocent
what was trial by Hot iron and who was it mainly used for
mainly used for women.
- accused had to walk short distance holding a red hot iron bar
- if wound wasnt healing if 3 days they were guilt
- if wound was healing well in 3 days they were innocent
give two situations where trial by ordeal might have been used
- court unable to reach a verdict
- couldnt find enough people willing to be compurgators
when did the normans defeat the anglo saxons
1066 at the battle of hastings
why did william I keep most of anglo saxon laws when he came to power
he wanted people to see him as the rightful successor
what was the mudrum fine and why was it created
if a norman was murdered and the killer wasnt caught local anglo-saxons had to pay a fine
- protected normans from violence
what was royal forest and what law was it apart of
land that was reserved for hunting ground for the king and certain nobels
- forest law
what was forest law
it deniend ordinary people the right to hunt wildlife and gather food in ‘royal forest’ areas.
what crime were those who went against forest laws guilty of
poaching - hunting on someones field without their permission
what was the punishment for poaching
- blinded
- fingers removed so they couldnt draw a bow
- executed
what were people reactions to forest laws
unpopular as it changed the way people lived
- those who lived off the land could be executed for trying to feed their familys
- people thought laws against poaching were unfair
how did william and normans face opposition from nobels in england
- several anglo-saxon rebellions between 1068 and 1071
what were williams reasons to the reponse of the anglo-saxon rebellions 1068-1071
rebellions were crimes against authority and william couldnt afford to loose control of the country
how did william repsonded to the northen rebellion in 1069
marched north and killed hundreds of people,burned crops and homes and destroyed livestock
why did william want to be harsh on the rebellions
he wanted to stop any future rebellions by removing the rebels support and wanted to deter any other rebellions
how was wergild replaced by the normas
replaced by a new system of fines
- rather than paying compensation to victims or familys the money would go to the king
what was the new ordeal that the normans introduced
trial by combat
what happened in trial by combat
they accuser and accused would fight the other to death or until the other one surrender
- the loser was judged to be guilty
how did the normans change law enforcement
- built castles in strategic locations to help prevent unrest
- earls became less powerful and sheriffs became to act as the kings main representative in shires. - many sheriffs were given castles
- by 1100 ass anglo-saxon nobels were replaced by normans
how did law enforcement change in the middle ages
- increasingly carried our by royal officals which created a more centrilised system
how was the court system reorganised in 1166
royal judges were required to travel the country to hear out the most serious cases in each area meaning that cases were treated the same across the country
when was the role of coroner created
1194
what is coroners do
they investigated suspicious deaths and ensured any fines owed by criminals reach the king
when were the keepers of peace created
1195
what did the keepers of peace do
they upheld the law in areas where there was disorder
when did keepers of peace change to the justices of the peace and what powers did they have
1327
had power to
inprison criminals
judge cases
hang the guilty
what was the result of introducing more royal representatives to each region
the monarch was able to ensure the law was being apllied consistantley aroun dthe country and it redcued the power of communities
why did local law enforcement change in towns
towns grew to it was no longer the case that everyone knew each other so it became harder for communities to police each other
what were parish constables
ordinary men responsible for upholding the law in their area.
- weren’t usually paid
- led hue and cry
- reported crimes to local courts
what were watchmen
local citzens that assisted the constables by watching for crimes commited at night
- they handed criminals over to the constable
when was the statute of labourers passed
1351
what did the statute of labourers make illegal
- demand higher wages from lord
- move away from lord to seek higher wages
- work for more than a maximum set wage
what was the statute of labourers made in response to
major social change - shortage of workers after the black death and nobels who owned land didnt want the surviving workers to ask for higher wages
what did the 1351 treason act do
redefined treason to any attempt to overthrow or harm the king
what was the new punishment for treason in 1351
hanged,drawn and quatered
what was being hanged,drawn and quatered
guilty were hung until almost dead
their bodies were cut open and their organs were removed
before being chopped in 4 pieces
when were laws passed around heresy
the late 14th century
what were moral crimes
actions that opposed the social or religious rules of the time
what roles did churches have in the 13th century in trial and punishment of criminals
they ran their own courts for moral crimes
how were church courts different to normal courts
they were more lenient to give offenders a chance to repent and they didnt execute criminals
what punishments did church courts give
- fines
- humilliation
- excommunication ( excluded from religious commnity)
when was benefit of the clergy created
1172
what was benefit of the clergy
any clergyman accused of a crime had the right to be tried in a church court
how could criminals claim benefit of the clergy
they had to prove they were a clergy man by reading a certain passage from the bible
( based on fact that only priests or monks could read)
what was sanctuary in churches
criminals were able to seek sanctuary where the authorities didn’t have the right to arrest them if they were stood on the holy grund of a church - temporarily safe from the law
what were the limitations of the privilege of sanctuary
- sometimes criminals had to meet certain conditions to get sanctuary like paying a fine or giving up property
- was only supposed to last 40 days. after that time either they had to go to court of leave england
how did the church have influence on crime and punishment
- sanctuary
- church had the power to decide was was considered a moral crime and impose its own punishments not the king
- pope decided to no longer use trial by ordeal
when did the church stop taking part in trial by ordeal
1215
what was the popes decision around trial by ordeal in 1215
decided that clergymen would no longer be allowed to take part in it
- pope was incharge of all clergy men
- became much less common as a way to determine guilt
- trial by combat remained as it did not involve a clergyman
what was the result of the church stopping taking part in trial by ordeal
rial by ordeal became a less common way to decide guilt
- trial by combat did not need a clergyman so it was continued to be used
