Medievel England - 1000-1500 Flashcards
Types of crime in medieval England
Poaching/ murder/ assault/ arson/ petty theft/ treason/ rebellion/ rape
What was the most common crime in medieval England
Crimes against property - petty theft
What was the law enforcement like in Anglo - Saxon England
No police force/ relied on local communities
- tithings/ hue and cry/ trial by local jury/ trial by ordeal
What were tithings
Groups of 10 males over the age of 12 who were responsible for each other’s behaviour. If one broke the law, they all had to take him to court or pay a fine
What was the Hue and Cry
If a crime was committed the witness was expected to raise an alarm and the entire village was expected to immediately hunt for the criminal
If one person didn’t join in, whole village would pay a fine
What was Trial by Local Jury
This relied on men from the village who knew both the accuser and the accused. It was up to them to decide who was truthful and if there was no clear evidence then they would decide on their own knowledge of the people
What did the jury have to do, if they felt the accuser was more honest then the accused
They had to swear an oath that the accused was guilty - this was called Compurgation
What was trial by ordeal
If the jury couldn’t decide, they believed God would All ordeals (except water) took place inside a church, where a priest was present
What were the types of trial by ordeal
Trial by hot iron - usually taken by women. The accused picked up a red hot weight and walked three steps. Three days later if the bandaged hand was festering they were guilty and if it was healing they were innocent
Trial by hot water - taken usually by men. Put his hand into boiling water to pick up an object. Three days later if wound was festering = guilty, if healing cleanly = innocent
Trail by blessed bread - taken by priests. Another priest prayed that the accused would choke on the bread if guilty.
Trial by cold water - taken usually by men. Tied with a knot above the waist and lowered into the water at the end of a rope. If they sank below gods ‘pure water’ = innocent. If they floated = guilty
Types of punishments in Anglo Saxon England
Wergild - fines/ compensation paid to the victim or their families. Level of fines set by kings law. For killing a noble - 300 shillings. For a Freeman - 100 shillings. Different body parts given their own price. Eg. Loss of an eye - 50 shillings/ broken arm 6 - shillings
Execution - used for treason and betraying your lord - deterrent
Mutilation - reoffenders could lose an eye/hand/ear/nose etc
How much was the wergild for an eye/ arm
Eye - 50 shillings
Broken arm - 6 shillings
Prisons in Anglo - Saxon England
- rarely used - too expensive
- only used for holding serious criminals before trials
What were the new crimes in Norman England
Rebellion/ breaking forest laws
What was seen as a social crime in the Norman times
Breaking the forest laws
What was the forest law and who introduced it
- introduced by William I
- trees could no longer be cut down for fuel/ building
- prevented ordinary people from hunting in the ‘royal forests’
- you could not graze animals
What was the consequences for breaking the forest laws
Mutilation
Anyone caught hunting deer had first two fingers chopped off
Repeat offenders were blinded
How much of England’s forests were ‘royal forests’
About 30%
- this was used by William and nobility for hunting
What new law enforcement methods did the Normans introduce
Trial by combat
Church courts
Foresters
What was trial by combat
The accused fought with the accuser until one was killed or unable to fight. The loser was hanged, as god has judged him to be guilty
What were church courts
These were separate courts used for churchman and they tended to be more lenient
What were Foresters
Police used to enforce the forest laws
Dealt with suspects harshly
Mutilation
What punishment did the normans end from the Anglo - Saxons
They endend wergild - William ordered all fines to be paid directly to the kings officials
What fine did the Normans introduce
Murdrum fine - if a Norman was murdered and the culprit was not caught, a large sum of money had to be paid from the villagers in the area the body was found
Murdering a Norman became more serious then murdering an Anglo Saxon - helped establish control
Why were rebellions a problem with the Normans
The Norman invasion was not welcome by the Anglo Saxons and there was lots of resistance, eg. From York and East Anglia
What was the law enforcement like in the later Middle Ages
Tithings/ hue and cry
Parish Constables Night watch Coroners Sheriff Knights (Justice of the Peace)
What were parish constables
- Appointed annually by local communities to lead the chase (hue and cry) for the criminal
- they were unpaid volunteers and well-respected by community
What was the night watch
Some towns established a night watch, in which volunteers patrolled the streets at night.
Any criminals handed over to the constable
What were coroners
Royal officials - all unnatural deaths had to be reported to the coroner for further investigation
What were sheriffs
Each county had a sheriff, who was expected to track down criminals if hue and cry failed
- from 1285, they were allowed to form a posse of men to help chase down the criminal
When were sheriffs allowed to form a posse of men to help chase down the criminal
1285
What were knights
- appointed by Richard I in unruly areas from 1195
- after the Justice of peace act (1361), they became JP’s
What were JP’s
Justice of the peace.
- were around 20 JPs per county
- had the power to hear major crimes 4 times a year
- appointed by the monarch and were usually local lords
When was the justice of the peace act
1361
When was trial by ordeal abolished
1215
What was punishment like in the later Middle Ages
Fines/ public humiliations/ capital punishment
Fines in the later Middle Ages
Become more common and used for most minor crimes
What were public humiliations
Stocks and pillories - used certain types of crime. Eg. Selling underweight bread/ weak beer
Whipping - often used alongside stocks and pilories
Why was public humiliations used
To deter
What are a few examples stocks and pillories were used to punish
Selling underweight bread/ weak beer
Capital punishment in the later Middle Ages
- use of execution increased
- hanging seen as a necessity
Varied on social status
- commoners - hanged
- nobles - beheaded
How could you escape execution in the later Middle Ages
- men could opt to fight in the army
- pregnancy protected some women
- benefit of the clergy/ sanctuary
What was benefit of the clergy
- an accused person claimed to be tried in the more lenient church courts
- in theory, only intended for priests
- in practise, anyone loosely associated with the church (doorkeepers/ gravediggers)
What did the church do to stop ordinary men being tried in church courts
- used a test requiring them to speak a verse from the bible (neck verse)
- usually only priests were able to read, helped weed out non-churchmen
Why did the church test not work
- criminals memorised the verse by heart
- called the ‘neck verse’
What was the verse from the bible called
Neck verse
What were church courts (case study)
The church claimed the right to try any churchmen accused of a crime in its own court
- never sentences anyone to death
- much more lenient
What did the church courts normally deal with
- all crimes
- also moral crimes
Eg. Failure to attend church on Sunday/ playing football on Sunday/ swearing/ adultery/ drunk
What was sanctuary
- if someone on the run could reach a church, they could claim sanctuary
- once claimed, they were under protection of the church for 40 days
- criminals had 40 days to face trial or leave the country
