Medieval England

• What was a Tithing?

  A group of 10 men over the age of 12. They looked out other each other, this was a method of community enforcement.
• Medieval England was from the dates 1000-1500
• Types of crime in Anglo-Saxon England included drinking too much, insulting your neighbour, stealing, murder and even ploughing someone else’s land
• Poaching was considered a social crime and many villages did not punish people who did it
• Anglo-Saxon society:

  • The king was the most important person in Anglo-Saxon England, controlling the land and deciding who to give it to
  • The nobles supported and advised the king, were given land by the king, and were expected to keep law and order in their lands
  • The Church had its own courts for clergy and offered sanctuary for people accused of crimes
  • Peasants, also known as serfs, lived in villages, farmed the land, and were expected to look out for one another
• Law enforcement and punishment in Anglo-Saxon England were mainly the responsibility of the local community and the Church
• People lived in villages and knew their neighbours well
• When a crime occurred, witnesses or victims were expected to raise the alarm and the men in the tithing had to chase the criminal. This was known as the ‘hue and cry'
• Each English shire was divided into hundreds and each hundred had ten tithings
• One member from each tithing within the hundred met with the shire reeve to prevent crime, particularly cattle theft
• If one person from the group broke a law, the other members would be responsible for taking them to court or paying a fine
• If an individual committed a crime, they would let down their whole community
• Two types of trials used in Anglo-Saxon England were trial by local jury and trial by ordeal
• Trial by local jury:

  • The jury was made up of men from the village tithing who knew the accuser and the accused
  • The jury would listen to accounts from both, and possibly witnesses, before deciding who was telling the truth
• Trial by ordeal:

  • If a local jury could not decide the outcome of a crime, then the villagers would turn to God to decide
  • Methods of trial by ordeal included trial by hot iron, trial by hot water, trial by blessed bread, and trial by cold water
• The Anglo-Saxons used a system of fines called the wergild, which was a type of compensation paid to victims of crime or their families based on social status
• The introduction of wergild and botgild meant money was paid instead of blood for serious crimes
• The fine for killing a prince was 1,500 shillings while the fine for killing a peasant was 40 shillings, showing an unequal system
• William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England in 1066 and became King William I after his victory at the Battle of Hastings
• William faced opposition from the Anglo-Saxon people and introduced new laws in Norman England to establish his power and authority
• New laws introduced in Norman England:

  • Murdrum: If a Norman was killed and the murderer was not captured and executed, the people of that region had to collectively pay a murdrum fine
  • Forest laws: Cutting down trees was forbidden, owning dogs or a bow and arrow in the forest was not allowed, hunting deer was prohibited. Offenders had their first two fingers cut off and repeat offenders were blinded
  • Harsher laws on women compared to Anglo-Saxon England, with women being subject to the rule of men
• Forest laws were not popular as they restricted activities allowed on common land in Anglo-Saxon England, leading to local communities not reporting those who broke the laws. It became a social crime.
• Norman laws were stricter towards women, unlike the equal treatment they received in Anglo-Saxon England
• Norman legal text stated: "Women’s authority nil. Let her in all things be subject to the rule of men."
• What were the forest laws classified as?

  Social Crime
• How many Anglo-Saxons were there to Normans

  There was 7,000 Normans to 2 million Anglo-Saxons
• • Church courts were introduced for Church members accused of crimes, with more lenient judgments and no capital punishment
• Law enforcement in Norman England:

  • William I continued Anglo-Saxon methods of law enforcement
  • Laws were now written in French, disadvantaging Anglo-Saxons
  • Collective responsibility within the community was used to prevent crime and hold criminals to account
  • Methods included tithings, hue and cry, trial by ordeal
  • Role of the sheriff and the posse were introduced by William I after 1066
  • Manor courts were established to discuss and punish crimes on the lord's land
  • Trial by combat was introduced to settle disagreements over money or land
• Law enforcement in medieval England:

  • New positions increased the role of the king and local government
  • Posse: a group of men organized by the sheriff to catch a criminal
  • Royal courts were introduced by Henry II in 1163 to hear serious crime cases
  • Coroners were introduced by Richard I in 1194 to investigate deaths from unnatural causes
  • Justices of the Peace (JPs) were developed by Edward III in 1327 from the role of 'keepers' appointed by Richard I in 1195
  • JPs enforced the law, meeting four times a year and appointed by the king
• • Parish constables were introduced by Edward I in 1285, responsible for keeping the peace in their parish during spare time
• Punishment in Norman England:

  • William I increased the use of capital punishment, such as death by hanging, for serious crimes and repeat offenders
  • Corporal punishment continued, with examples like cutting off the first two fingers of those who broke forest laws by hunting deer
  • Fines were used for less serious crimes
  • The murdrum fine was introduced for all residents in the region where a Norman was killed if the murderer was not found
  • Wergild was abolished, and fines were paid to William I and his officials
• • People sentenced to death could buy a pardon, fight in the king's army, or join the Crusades to avoid execution
  • High treason in later medieval England led to being hanged, drawn, and quartered for plotting to kill the king
• Punishment in Medieval England:

  • Most punishments from Anglo-Saxon and Norman England continued
  • Henry II introduced prisons under the Assize of Clarendon in the 12th century
  • Prisons mainly consisted of holding cells for serious crime suspects
  • Other punishments included:
  • Humiliation: the stocks and pillory
  • Corporal Punishment: beatings and maiming
  • Capital Punishment: death by hanging and beheading
  • Fines and prisons
  • Stocks were used for crimes like swearing and drunkenness, where the community would throw rotten food and stones at the criminal
• Punishment in Norman England:

  • William I increased the use of capital punishment, such as death by hanging, for serious crimes and repeat offenders
  • Corporal punishment continued, with examples like cutting off the first two fingers of those who broke forest laws by hunting deer
  • Fines were used for less serious crimes
  • The murdrum fine was introduced for all residents in the region where a Norman was killed if the murderer was not found
  • Corpses were presumed to be Norman unless proven otherwise
  • Wergild was abolished, and all fines were paid to William I and his officials
• Punishment in Later Medieval England:

  • Punishments from Anglo-Saxon and Norman England continued
  • Henry II introduced prisons in the 12th century under the Assize of Clarendon
  • Prisons mainly consisted of holding cells for serious crime suspects
  • Other punishments included:
  • Stocks and pillory
  • Physical punishments like beatings and maiming
  • Death by hanging and beheading
  • Fines
  • Stocks used for crimes like swearing and drunkenness, where the community would throw rotten food and stones at the criminal
• • People sentenced to death could buy an official pardon, fight in the king's army, or join the Crusades to avoid execution
  • In the later medieval period, high treason was introduced for plotting to kill the king
  • Convicted individuals of high treason would be hanged, drawn, and quartered
• Punishment in Norman England:

  • William I increased the use of capital punishment, such as death by hanging, for serious crimes and repeat offenders
  • Corporal punishment continued, with examples like having the first two fingers cut off for breaking forest laws
  • Fines were used for less serious crimes
  • The murdrum fine was introduced for all residents in the region where a Norman was killed if the murderer was not found
  • Wergild ended, with all fines paid to William I and his officials
• • High treason was introduced in the later medieval period for plotting to kill the king, resulting in being hanged, drawn, and quartered
• Punishment in Later Medieval England:

  • Most punishments from Anglo-Saxon and Norman England continued
  • Henry II introduced prisons in the 12th century under the Assize of Clarendon
  • Other punishments included stocks, pillory, physical punishments, beatings, maiming, death by hanging, death by beheading, fines, and prisons
  • Stocks were used for crimes like swearing and drunkenness, where the community would throw rotten food and stones at the criminal
  • People sentenced to death could buy a pardon from the king, fight in his army during war, or join the Crusades to avoid execution
• The emphasis on punishment as retribution and deterrence continued into the later medieval period.