types of crime in anglo saxon

• 90% of people lived in the countryside with very few towns developed
• Britain was divided in a strict system with the king at the top which was followed by wealthy and powerful nobles and then freemen who were respected workers of society and finally serfs who owned no land and worked for low pay.

  A serf fighting with a noble is treason.
• there was a strong belief that it was the king's duty to keep 'King's peace'
• how growth of town influenced an increase of crime ?

  • crime against person
  • crime against property

  why ?

  • easier to get away with crimes due to the increase in population
  • people did not know eachother
  • towns had more valuable items due to trade links
• crimes in the countryside and collective responsibility :

  • most people knew eachother therefore crime was easier to identify
  • local communities were expected to take collective responsibility
  • each area had a local reeve which is a local official chosen by the community and they carried out decisions made by local courts to make sure a criminal is punished
  • local church played a role