middle ages

• What dates do the middle ages cover in the course?

  1000-1500
• Two examples of community based policing used by the Saxons were tithings and the hue and cry.
• What was the Anglo Saxon fines system called?


  Werguild.
• What happened in trials when the jury couldn't reach a verdict? (until 1215)


  Trial by ordeal
• The law that the Normans passed that people in the countryside hated was the forest laws.
• The Norman king that invaded in 1066 was William the conqueror.
• One reason the Normans increased the use of capital punishment was to scare the Saxons into behaving.
• Justice of the peace - Appointed by the king in the 1360s to oversee justice / trials in a local area.
• What was it called when you avoided trial in the kings courts and were put on trial in the church courts?

  Benefit of clergy
• Middle ages - AD 1000-1500
• 954 - English kingdoms unite under one king.
• 1066 - William I is crowned king of England, end of the Saxon period and beginning of the Norman period.
• 1072 - Forest laws are introduced.
• 1086 - Domesday book
• 1164 - Constitutions of Clarendon, start of the middle ages.
• 1194 - Coroners are introduced.
• 1215 - Trial by ordeal ends.
• 1348 - Black death reaches England.
• 1485 - Henry Tudor becomes King Henry VII
• Hue and cry - someone would call out and everyone in the village would stop what they were doing and chase after the criminal.
• Tithings - A group of ten men who were responsible for each others' behavior, every man over the age of twelve had to join. If one broke the law, the others had to bring him to court or pay a fine.
• Trial by local jury - Made up of men who knew the accuser as well as the accused, it was up to the jury to decide who was telling the truth, if there was no evidence they decided based off of their knowledge already.
• Trial by ordeal - If jury could not decide guilt or innocence, they turned to trial by ordeal in the hope that God would help them, often done in church.
• Wergild - Compensation paid to the victims of the crime or their families.
• Capital punishment - punishment by death.
• Corporal punishment - Punishment by mutilation or other physical punishment.
• Stocks and pillory - A punishment that combined physical pain with public humiliation. You had to spend time (sometimes days) with your arms and neck secured in a pillory and / or ankles secured in the stocks.
• What was the date of the Norman invasion?


  28th September 1066
• Who was the Norman invasion led by?


  William the conqueror
• Why did the Normans win the battle of Hastings?


  Saxons shield wall broke and King Harold was killed.
• What did the Normans build quickly to help control England after the battle of Hastings?


  Castles
• What happened when the Saxons tried to fight back in Yorkshire?


  Harrying of the North.
• Who did the Normans believe owned the land in England?


  The king.
• What was the Domesday book?

  Survey of lands and contents of the country.
• What were the main types of social crimes?

  Poaching, vagrancy, heresy and witchcraft, treason and rebellion, theft and robbery, adultery and sexual crimes.
• murdrum fine = people in the local community were forced to pay a fine if a norman was murdered and the killer was not caught.
• Treason - most serious crime against authority, involving any act which directly opposed or betrayed the king. This included plotting or attempting to overthrow the monarch, aiding enemies, or undermining the monarchy's rule.
• Rebellion - an attempt by subjects to oppose their ruler through force. Rebels could be punished severely, including being hanged, drawn and quartered.
• Heresy - holding beliefs that contradicted those of the Church. Heretics faced severe punishment, often including burning at the stake.
• Witchcraft - believed to involve pacts with the devil, leading to accusations of causing harm to others. Witches were usually women accused of using magic to harm others, and they faced harsh penalties such as hanging.