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HIST236 > Test #1 - Anglo-Saxons > Flashcards

Test #1 - Anglo-Saxons Flashcards

1
Q

753 BCE

A

Traditional date of the foundation of Rome

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2
Q

510 BCE

A

Rome becomes an independent city-state and begins her conquest of the Italian peninsula

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3
Q

102 BCE

A

Roman General Marius defeats Teutoni at Aquae Sextiae in southern France

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4
Q

101 BCE

A

Marius defeat Cimbri at Vercellae in northern Italy

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5
Q

Gaul

A

France area, becomes a Roman province and shares a common border with the “German wilderness” across the Rhine and Danube

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6
Q

9 CE

A

Rome wishes to extend her rule to the Elbe, Arminius (herman the german) destroys three Roman legions for three days. Roman expansion into Germany ends and stops at the Danube

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7
Q

181 CE

A

Marcomanni and Quadi tribes cross the Danube and being series of wars against Rome during the reign of Marcus Aurelius - “cracks” appear in Rome’s frontiers

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8
Q

212 CE

A

Caracella gave Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of Empire in 212

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9
Q

3 Branches of Roman Law

A

Public: state/citizen
Civil: citizen/citizen (Rome’s greatest contribution to law)
Law of nations: citizen/foreigner

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10
Q

6 Main Sources of Roman Law

A
  1. Edicts of magistrates
  2. Edicts of provincial governors
  3. Edicts of emperors
  4. Jurists
  5. Senatus consultum (edict of the Senate)
  6. Plebiscite (edict of the people)
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11
Q

Edicts of Emperors

A

Mandata (admin instructions to the Emperor’s officials)
Decreta (judicial decision of emperor)
Rescripta (imperial statement of what their decision would be if facts proved in petition or request made to him)
Decisions are often advised/aided by the consilium principis (emperor’s council of jurists and legal experts)

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12
Q

Jurists

A
  • men who studied the practical application of law vs legal theory
  • gave advice as part of their public service
  • opinions aren’t binding, but useful
  • during the Empire they worked for the government and had great influence
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13
Q

Theodosian Code (438 CE) of Theodosius II

A
  • Includes all imperial laws since the time of Constantine I that were still in effect
  • nothing from earlier times or jurists
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14
Q

Justinian’s Code (Emperor Justinian, of the Eastern Roman Empire 527-565 CE)

A
  • all roman laws gathered into one code called the Corpus Juris Civillis (body of civil law)
  • purpose was to devise a system wherein judges could be properly guided by looking at the code instead of making arbitrary decisions
  • divided into 4 parts
    1. The code (statutory laws)
    2. The digest (all decisions)
    3. The institutes (textbook used by law students)
    4. The novels (all the ‘new’ laws from Justinian himself)
  • CJC later became basis of modern Western law (Corpus Juris Civillis)
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15
Q

Role of Anglo-Saxon King

A
  • lead the army in battle
  • had to enforce the law, dispense justice and collect taxes
  • holds the ‘sword of justice’ in courts
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16
Q

Thegns

A
  • the upper class of Saxon society and elite warriors
  • originated as king’s bodyguard
  • rewarded with gifts of land and titles
  • title was hereditary
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17
Q

Ceorls (peasants)

A
  • made up majority of working class
  • all eligible for duty in the fyrd (militia)
  • 3 main classes of ceorls
    1. Geneatas (highest peasant, wealthy ceorl could ride to status of thegn)
    2. Kotsetla (second class)
    3. Gebur (third class)
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18
Q

Serfs/Bondsmen

A
  • at the bottom of the social ladder
  • usually prisoners of war
  • could be bought and sold as slaves
  • tied to the lord’s land
  • severe punishments for those who tried to escape
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19
Q

Kindred

A
  • extended family, included one’s family and his father’s and mother’s relations
  • if a man were killed, it was his Kindred who prosecuted those responsible and collected his weregild
  • 2/3 of a weregild went to the father’s family and 1/3 to the mother’s family
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20
Q

The 3 Functions of Anglo-Saxon Law

A
  1. Legislative
  2. Executive
  3. Judicial
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21
Q

Legislative Function

A
  • carried out by the King and Witan, or sometimes Witan alone
  • new codes were produced at regular intervals, adding new statues, up-dating old ones, re-stating
  • copies made for Earls, bishops and local reeves
  • some differences based on customary law in various parts of England
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22
Q

Executive Functions

A
  • no police force to arrest criminals, instead victims relied on their kin and friends to form a posse and pursue criminals
  • easy for criminals to escape and hide in forests of England (you’d become an outlaw, could be killed onsight)
  • accused brought before shire reeve to face trial
  • hundredmen could form a posse to apprehend anyone who broke the king’s peace and fled
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23
Q

Judicial Functions

A
  • charges were usually heard by the “hundred court” presided over by the local shire-reeve
  • held every 4 weeks in a very public place
  • above the “hundred court” was the shire court
  • most trials either took form of appeal to public opinion or to heaven through an ordeal
  • if he or kin did not pay fine, he was declared an outlaw and banished
  • if accused did appear, both sides swore an oath stating that they were acting in good faith
  • “denial always stronger than accusation”
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24
Q

Trial by Ordeal

A
  • if the accuser’s oath was accepted and the defendant’s oath had a verbal hitch and failed, or the accused still insisted on his innocence after both sides had given successful oaths, the trial by ordeal took over
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25
Q

The Cold Water Ordeal

A
  • after drinking holy water, the accused was bound and tossed into a river or pond
  • if he floated he was guilty because the water was rejecting him
  • if he sunk he was innocent because the water was accepting him
26
Q

The Hot Iron Ordeal

A
  • accused had to carry a pound red-hot iron a certain distance
  • after 3 days, if wound festered he was guilty and if wound healed he was innocent
27
Q

The Boiling Water Ordeal

A
  • accused had hand plunged into a cauldron of boiling water to retrieve a stone
  • after 3 days, if wound festered he was guilty and if wound healed he was innocent
28
Q

Punishment

A
  • no prisons as courts relied on fines, mutilation and death as punishments
  • weregild was a principle of compensation for murder and mutilitation
  • Thegn = 6000 silver pence
  • Ceorl (varied) = 1000 silver pence
  • Slaves = none, just value of their work to their owners
29
Q

Oaths

A
  • Oaths before an altar were a sacred bond and shows the influence of Christianity
  • oaths required from various people in society reflected the hierarchy in Medieval society
  • Kings/bishops did not have to swear an oath as God’s chosen leaders
  • breaking a “good” oath involves 40 days of penance
  • oath is sacred, swearing by God that you didn’t do something
30
Q

Thieves

A
  • a thief caught in the act can be killed on the spot, or be permitted to pay his weregeld and live (as long as they are over 8 years old and the value of what is taken is more than 8 pence)
  • up to 7 men = thieves, 8-35 men = a band, 35+ men = an army
  • the more men involved in a crime, the more severe the punishment/fine and the greater number of eath-helpers needed
  • proven thieves cannot claim sanctuary of the Church and are put to death
31
Q

Perjury

A
  • those guilty of perjury can never again “have the privilege of clearing themselves by oath, but only by the ordeal”
  • they are no longer “oath worthy”
  • huge implication socially and legally
32
Q

Process of the Ordeal

A
  • live with the local priest for 3 days before the Ordeal
  • pray, fast, confess, mass and receive communion
  • priest gets a feeling about your innocence or guilt
  • lots of psychological pressure
  • swear an oath of innocence on the day of the Ordeal
  • God is the ultimate judge
  • if he repents and makes penance, he can be buried in consecrated ground
  • those of bad reputation (not oath worthy) go to the triple ordeal for crimes (usually theft)
33
Q

Slaves

A
  • valued as property, not people
  • slaves who are theives are branded on the first offence, put to death on the second offence
34
Q

False Accusation/Slander

A
  • either lose their tongue or pay its weregeld
  • loss of tongue is a “mirror punishment”
35
Q

Hue and Cry

A
  • if you saw a thief you had to shout the “hue and cry”
  • if you heard a “hue and cry”, you were obligated to help catch one and you could not aid the thief, or you would be fined
36
Q

Slaying a Priest

A
  • results in a weregeld fine and pilgrimage as penance or being outlawed
  • pilgrimage must begin within 30 days or lose all property as well as being outlawed
37
Q

Priests/Clergy that commit murder

A
  • lose their office, is banished, must go on a pilgrimage as directed by the Pope
  • no execution of criminals on sundays or holy days
38
Q

Mundbyrd

A
  • your protective rights over someone
  • in marriage, often described in the codes as when anyone buys a maiden (not buying her, buying her legal rights to sue, be sued, and inherit on her behalf from her father or guardian)
  • maiden = virgin, not single woman
39
Q

Morning Gift (morgengyfe)

A
  • a gift of land and wealth given to a new bride by her groom the morning after their wedding night
  • a gift to her from her husband for the gift of her virginity
40
Q

Property

A
  • sons can inherit their deceased father’s property at 10
  • property is kept on father’s side of the family
  • sons can engage in lawsuits, serve in the military and marry at age 12
41
Q

Importance of Witnesses (Property)

A
  • growing need for witness to prove you purchases something legally
  • if accused of possessing stolen goods, he can keep them if he can produce witnesses
  • if no witnesses = he will swear a sacred oath that he bought it, but lose the property in question and be given its value instead
  • if no witnesses and no oath = he loses property with no compensation
42
Q

Breaking off an engagement/Breach of promise

A
  • assumed it is the woman’s fault
  • “breach of promise” has huge personal, social and legal repercussions
  • pay the ex-fiance double the myndbyrd back, plus any other costs based on other embarassing aspects of the situation or the degree of insult
  • very expensive, stops a family from “shopping around for a better husband”
  • whatever the man paid for her, he gets double back for the insult (insult because people assume something is wrong with him, resulting in her breaking off the engagement)
43
Q

Poaching/Stealing crops

A
  • “fire is a thief” and “the axe is an informer” - axe makes a lot of noise, you’ll hear someone chopping down trees, “stealing” trees
  • fines for cutting down trees and pigs based on their size
44
Q

Bocland (bookland)

A

land given to someone in a will (land is to be kept in the family, can be sold to another family member but not someone else - keeping family wealth and status is important)

45
Q

Wanted men

A
  • were able to be held for “due process” of law vs taking law into your own hands and risking a blood feud
  • wanted men can take sanctuary in their home or a church for 7 days (can keep him for up to 30 days or until he comes out and attack one of your men)
  • wanted men who surrendered themselves and their weapons were to be protected
  • Church was a sanctuary for anyone feeling the law or hostile pursuers
46
Q

Adultery

A
  • a man guilty of adultery is fined
  • a woman guilty of adultery loses her posessions/property to her husband and has her nose&ears cut off
  • “wicked” adultery = a priest seduces a maiden, married woman or nun
47
Q

Incest

A
  • incest punished with a fine, or the paying of a weregeld, or the loss of all possessions
  • different degrees of incest punished
  • could not marry up to the 6th degree (4th cousin)
48
Q

Insult

A
  • insults result in a fine of 1 shilling to the householder where the insult took place, 6 shillings to the one insulted, and 12 shillings to the King for “breaking the King’s peace”
  • huge revenue for the King
49
Q

Laws 9-15

A
  • sacred laws
  • working on Sunday
  • eating meat on fasting days is punished by a fine of a healsfang (half a weregild fine)
  • a Ceorl working on a holy day is fined with a healsfang
  • sacrificing to devils is fined by either losing all of your goods or your healsfang
  • man who kills a thief in the act of theft does not have to pay a weregild fine
  • Church free from taxation
  • child must be baptized within 30 days or the parents are fined 30 shillings
50
Q

Treason

A
  • punished with death and the loss of “all he possesses”
  • huge consequences for his family, as they would inherit nothing
51
Q

Rape

A
  • a slave raping another slave is castrated
  • Ceorl raping slave of another ceorl is fined 5 shillings to the Ceorl and +60 shillings for the assault
  • the higher your class is, the greater the fine is
  • minors who are raped are compensated as adults
52
Q

Public Slander

A
  • serious crime as it reflects on a man’s reputation
  • punished by the loss of your tongue, or pay 1/3 weregeld
53
Q

Murder

A
  • man who kills pregnant woman pays her weregeld plus half a weregeld for the child (fetus killed in womb is compensated at half the father’s weregild)
54
Q

Witchcraft

A
  • put to death
  • can only prove innocence (meaning the death was accidental) through the ordeal
  • if death accidental. imprisoned for 120 days, pay 120 shillings to the King, pay weregild to deceased’s kin, and must never practice witchcraft again
55
Q

Counterfeit

A
  • counterfeiters lose their hand and it is displayed over the home of the counterfeiter
  • can go to hot iron ordeal to prove innocence (might still lose their hand due to injury)
56
Q

Priests

A
  • must remain celibate and may not marry, have more than one wife or divorce
  • the problem was that when the priest would die, they were giving Church property to their kids, which took land away from the Church
57
Q

Purpose of Laws

A

The punishment shall be such as is justifiable in the sight of God and acceptable in the eyes of men
(punishment should fit the crime)
- promotes merciful punishments and to not sell Christians out of the country (to pagan people)
- laws in place to drive out wizards/witches/spellcasters
- vindication for victim’s families by giving murderers over to deceased’s kinsmen to be put to death

58
Q

Botless crimes

A

Crimes considered so severe that you can not buy your way out of being put to death by paying a fine
- guilty must pay a fine and be put to death
- assaults upon houses, arson, theft, murder (not homicide), treachery against your Lord

59
Q

Army (Fyrde)

A

Those who flee the army or navy while on campaign against the enemy will lose all of their property and their life

60
Q

Justice through Weregeld

A

Restitution for the family of victims, compensation owed for injury of another
- disputes were settled through compensation to prevent blood feuds
- represented the price/worth of the man slain depending on their social status in society
- put in place to stop the cycle of violence from blood feuds

EXAMPLE: if someone in a family was killed, the slayer would owe the family the weregeld of the victim - prevent blood feuds, compensation etc.

61
Q

Injustice through Weregild

A
  • price for killing a king/lord was the highest, which likely protected them from violence as many commoners could not afford that price
  • keeps those in the bottom of the social hierarchy in line and abiding by the laws put in place by those at the top of the hierarchy through the threat of financial loss
  • not dependant on severity of crime but dependent on how much the victim was worth in society
  • unjust, putting monetary value on lives

EXAMPLE: - pay more if you kill someone of higher class, those in higher class that kill someone of lower class can afford it and essentially ‘get away with it’
- Noble”s = 300 shillings, 3x a commoner’s

HIST236 (2 decks)

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