Medieval Period Flashcards
How long is the is the medieval period?
1000 (c11th) - 1500 (c16th)
What were common types of crime in medieval England?
- Petty theft
- Violence
- Murder
- Rebelling
What were common methods of policing in medieval England?
- Tithings
- Hue and cry
- Sheriffs
- Parish constables
What were common methods of punishment in medieval England?
- Fines / Murdrum fine
- Execution
- Stocks and pillories
- Mutilation
- Wergild
- Flogging
What was the aim of punishment in medieval England?
Retribution and deterrence
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what were tithings?
- 10 men over 12
- They were responsible for each other and their behaviour
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what was the Hue and cry?
- Calling for help in catching a criminal
- All villagers had to join the chase
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what was trial by jury?
men from the village who knew the accuser and the accused and decided who was telling the truth
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what was the wergild?
fine (the amount varied)
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what did the laws did Normans change?
- They brought in the Murdrum fine
- -> a fine which the region paid for killing a norman
- Introduced Forest laws
- -> made it illegal to hunt and forage in areas
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: how did Norman laws reflect on women?
They were harsher as legally, they were nearly equal in the Saxon times
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what trial did the Normans introduce?
Trial by combat –> the winner was innocent
Church courts –> for church men and were often lenient
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: did the Normans change the official language of the courts?
Yes.
They changed it to Norman- french and and the records were written in Latin
–> this excluded the Saxons as they couldn’t even understand their own legal system
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: during the Norman era who were fines paid to?
They were now paid to the king when before they were paid to the victim
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what did the Normans mostly keep the same?
- The majority of the laws
- capital punishment
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: did the Forest laws actually make a difference?
No not really.
- people continued to hunt in the forests despite it being illegal
- People thought they were unfair
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what policing methods were there in Norman England?
- THE PARISH CONSTABLE–> they led the Hue and cry
- THE SHERIFF AND THE POSSE –> they tracked down and imprisoned criminals
- THE CORONER–> they enquired into all unnatural deaths
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what trials were there in Norman England?
- SANCTUARY –> when it was reached a criminal could not be removed and they had 40 days to either stand trial or leave the country
- ROYAL COURTS –> royal judges visited counties 4 x a year for the most serious crimes (started 1160’s)
- QUARTER SESSIONS–> JP’s held courts 4 x a year to take some work off of royal courts
- JUSTICES OF THE PEACE –> The gentry and noblemen who acted as judges
- PRIVATE/MANOR COURTS–> held by landowners and dealt with workers not doing enough
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: how could you avoid the death penalty?
- Claim BENEFIT OF THE CLERGY
- Become a KINGS APPROVER
- Join the ARMY
- BUY a PARDON from the king
- Don’t get caught
- Be PREGNANT
- Claim SANCTUARY
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what was a king’s approver?
Your life would be saved if you accused 10 people of crimes and they were found guilty
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: how did the church influence justice?
- CHURCH COURTS
- Trial by ORDEAL
- Put the FEAR OF GOD into people
- BENEFIT of the CLERGY
- INFLUENCE on MORALITY
- SANCTUARY
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what were church courts?
- Claimed the right to TRY CHURCH MEN
- NEVER sentenced people to DEATH
- Dealt with MORAL OFFENCES
- Were more LENIENT
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: what was Benefit of the clergy?
- CLAIMING the RIGHT to be tried in a CHURCH COURT
- ONLY for PRIESTS but EVERYONE USED it
- People had to read a BIBLE VERSE (the NECK VERSE) to prove they were church men but everyone just memorised it
