Crime + Punishment

• Theories of crime - biological, psychological, sociological
• tithings - groups of men who were responsible for each other. if one broke the law, the others had to turn him in, or pay a fine
• hue and cry - if an alarm was raised, the whole village had to hunt for the criminal. if someone didn't help, the whole village had to pay a fine
• trial by local jury - a jury of local men who knew both the accused and the accuser. if there was no clear evidence, they would decide guilt or innocence based on their knowledge of those concerned
• trial by ordeal - a method of determining guilt or innocence by putting the accused to a test and hoping God would decide
• trial by cold water - usually taken by men. the accused was lowered into water on the end of the rope. if they floated above the water, they had been rejected by the pure water and were guilty
• trial by hot water - usually taken by men. the accused put his hand into boiling water to pick up an object. the hand was bandaged and unwrapped three days later. a cleanly healing wound meant innocence
• witch trials - people suspected of witchcraft were tried at church courts. if found guilty, they could be burned alive as punishment
• the Bloody Code - laws passed between 1688 and 1723 which made many crimes punishable by death. it led to thousands being executed every year
• transportation - criminals sentenced to transportation were shipped off to colonies such as Australia instead of being hanged
• trial by hot iron - taken by women. the accused picked up red-hot weight and walked three paces with it. the hand was bandaged and unwrapped three days later. a cleanly healing wound meant innocence
• trial by blessed bread - taken by priests. a priest prayed that the accused would choke on bread if they lied. the accused was found guilty if they choked
• wergild - compensation paid to the victims of crime or their families. the level of the fine was set by the king's laws. killing a noble was 300 shillings; a freeman was 100 shillings; while the fine for killing a peasant was lower.

  also used to settle cases of physical injury. different body parts had different prices, for example, the loss of an eye was worth 50 shillings, whereas a broken arm cost 6 shillings
• execution - the death penalty was used for treason against the kings or betraying your lord. this helped to enforce loyalty
• mutilation - reoffenders could lose a hand, an ear or their nose, or even be blinded
• murdrum fine - Norman soldiers were not welcomed by the Anglo-Saxon people in England. William introduced a law saying that if a Norman was killed and the murderer was not captured and executed, then the people of that region had to collectively pay a murdrum fine.
• forest laws - The cutting down of trees was forbidden. People in the forest were not allowed to own dogs or a bow and arrow. People were also not allowed to hunt deer and were punished by having their first two fingers cut off so that they could no longer use a bow and arrow. Repeat offenders were blinded. local communities often didn’t report people who hunted or collected firewood from the forest.
• Normans kept the local systems of tithings and hue and cry. trial by ordeal also continued however they introduced trial by combat. church courts were established (they tended to be more lenient)
• trial by combat - the accused fought with the accuser until one was killed or unable to fight on. the loser was then hanged, as God had judged him to be guilty
• posse - A group of men, organised by the sheriff, to catch a criminal.
• royal court - Royal courts were introduced by Henry II in 1163. A royal court was appointed by the king and would travel the country. The most serious cases of crime were heard by a royal court.
• coroner - In 1194 Richard I introduced coroners. Their job was to investigate any death that occurred from unnatural causes, where there was no obvious natural explanation, such as illness. A coroner was appointed by the king.
• justices of the peace - From 1195, Richard I appointed some knights to keep the King’s Peace in areas where the local community found it difficult to maintain law and order. They were known as ‘keepers’. From 1327, Edward III developed this role into Justices of the Peace (JPs). JPs would meet four times a year to take part in manor courts and enforce the law. JPs were appointed by the king.
• parish constables - Parish constables were introduced in 1285 by Edward I. Men in the parish would volunteer for the role. They would be responsible for keeping the peace in their parish during their spare time.
• wergild ended. all fines were paid to William I and his officials, rather than the victim or their family.
• punishments in medieval England:

  • physical punishments
  • beatings
  • maiming
  • death by hanging
  • death by beheading
  • fines
  • prisons
• sanctuary - if someone on the run from the law could reach a church, they could claim sanctuary. they were under the protection of the Church. they then had 40 days either to face trial or to leave the country
• benefit of the clergy - Although the right to be tried in a Church court was intended for priests, it was often extended to anyone who was connected to the Church. To claim ‘benefit of the clergy’, an individual had to read a verse from Psalm 51 in the Bible. In medieval England it was only priests and churchmen who could read. However, non-churchmen were able to get around this by learning a verse from the Bible, which they would recite. This became known as the ‘neck verse’ because it often saved people’s neck from the hangman’s noose.
• heresy - the crime of holding religious beliefs different from those of the monarch or Church. the punishment was public burning at the stake
• treason- disobedience or disloyalty to the monarch. the punishment was hanging, drawing and quartering
• gunpowder plot 1605 aim - Robert Catesby hatched a plan to blow up Parliament, kill King James and put a Catholicon the throne
• gunpowder plot - Guy Fawkes placed 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the Houses of Parliament, more than enough to destroy the building and everyone in it
• gunpowder plot what actually happened - an anonymous letter warned Lord Monteagle not to attend the opening of Parliament. he informed Robert Cecil (king's chief minister). soldiers arrested Fawkes and tortured him to identify the other plotters. some plotters were killed in the fighting; others were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered
• vagabonds or vagrants - a person who is homeless and wanders from place to place
• In 1547 a harsh Vagrancy Act was passed by the government. An able-bodied vagrant - man or woman - who had been out of work for more than three days was branded with the letter ‘V’ and sentenced to two years of slavery if this was their first offence. For their second offence, they were sentenced to slavery for life or execution.
• In 1550 the Vagrancy act was repealed because it was deemed too harsh. The government instead used corporal punishment, such as whipping. After being whipped, offenders were returned to their birthplace or place of residence.

  A further Vagrancy Act was passed in 1597. It stated that vagrants who did not change their ways could have an ear burned using a hot iron and be sent into exile or executed.
• In 1601, Elizabeth I passed the Poor Law. This distinguished between the ‘undeserving poor’ and the ‘deserving poor’:

  • The elderly and disabled were now part of the deserving poor and would receive poor relief funding from parish churches.
  • Vagrants were now part of the undeserving poor. They could be sent to a house of correction, where they would be whipped.
• Pamphlets listing the different types of vagrants were shared in communities. For example:

  • drummerers - people pretending to be deaf and non verbal
  • freshwater mariners and whipjacks - beggars who were, or pretended to be, ex-sailors and said they had been attacked by pirates
  • kinchin morts - young female beggars
  • priggers of prancers - horse thieves
• During the early modern period, the population increased, wages fell, food prices rose and people moved around the country searching for work. As a result, people became concerned about vagabonds, or vagrants, who committed crimes such as theft, assault and murder. People in early modern England wanted to help poor people who lived in their community and were known to them. However, they viewed vagrants as suspicious, sinful and potential criminals because they were unfamiliar to the community.
• Witchcraft became a criminal offence in 1542.