crime and punishment

• There were four main groups in Medieval Society. Each had a different role to play.
• Groups in Medieval Society

  • The King
  • The Nobles
  • The Church
  • The peasants
• The King

  The person, supposedly chosen by God, who was the most important of all people in the country. He controlled lots of land which he gave to his supporters. His job was to defend the country from attack and make sure people were protected by laws.
• The Nobles

  They were the King's main supporters and advisors. The king gave them land and in return they provided soldiers to help the king and helped maintain law and order.
• The Church

  Medieval people were very religious, the Church was very important because it offered people the chance to go to Heaven when they died. Each village had a priest and everyone in the Village had to go to Church. The Church had its own courts to put Church workers on trial, the Church building was also used by criminals claiming sanctuary. The Church's power meant that it sometimes ended up fighting with the King.
• The peasants

  Most people were peasants, they worked as farmers on the land owned by the local lord. Peasants worked on their own land as well so they could feed their families. There was no police force, so local communities were expected to look after each other and ensure law and order was kept.
• Types of crime in Saxon England

  • Drinking too much and insulting your neighbour
  • Stealing
  • Murder
  • Ploughing someonelse's land
• Tithings

  There was no police in Saxon England. Every male over the age of 12 was expected to join a 'tithing'. A 'tithing' was a group of 10 men who were each responsible for everyonelse's behavior. If one of them broke the law, the other members of the tithing had to bring him to court, or pay a fine.
• Hue and Cry

  If a crime was committed the victim was expected to raise the 'hue and cry'. The entire village had to stop whatever they were doing and join in the hunt to catch the criminal. If a person did not join the 'hue and cry' then the whole village would be fined.
• Parish Constable

  A local man given the duty of making sure law and order was followed in the village. This job was unpaid.
• Trial by Local Jury

  1. A) The accused and the victim would each give their version of what happened.

  2. B) If the jury could not tell who was telling the truth, or if there was not enough evidence (i.e an eyewitness) then they would decide based on their knowledge of the people concerned.

  3. If they decided the victim was more trustworthy than the accused, they would find the accused guilty and swear an oath of compurgation.
• Types of Trial by Ordeal

  • Trial by Hot Iron
  • Trial by Hot Water
  • Trial by Cold water
  • Trial by Blessed Bread (only for priests)
• Wergild

  The 'wergild' was a system of fines for different crimes used by the Saxons. Each crime had a specific fine. The system was designed to make further violence less likely (unlike the blood feud which was all about retribution).
• The Wergild was used for crimes involving physical injury, each body part had a specific cost. (ie broken arm = 6 shillings).
• The Wergild system was not a fair one though, as more powerful members of society were protected by higher fines (killing a nobleman = 300 shillings, killing a freeman = 100 shillings).
• Punishments in Saxon England

  • Capital punishment
  • Corporal punishment
  • Public humiliation
• Outlaw


  If someone failed to attend their trial then they would be declared an outlaw. This meant they could be killed without any punishment.
• When William the Conqueror took control of England

  He brought some new ideas about crime and punishment
• Posse Comitatus

  If the 'hue and cry' failed to catch the criminal then the local Sheriff would be informed. He would gather a group of able bodied men who would go out and hunt for the criminal.
• Murdrum Fine

  Angry Saxons whose homes and property were destroyed by the Normans took the law into their own hands. William introduced a new law which said that if a Norman was murdered, all the people in that region had to pay an expensive fine.
• 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.
• William ended the Wergild system, all fines for crimes were paid to the King and no longer the victim's family.
• The Normans introduced Church courts. These were separate courts which were used for churchmen and tended to be more lenient (there was no capital punishment).
• Royal Courts


  These were used only for serious crimes. Royal Judges were appointed to represent the King and to ensure that justice was carried out.
• Forest Laws


  • Trees could no longer be cut down for fuel or for building.
  • People in forests were no longer allowed to own dogs or bows and arrows.
  • Anyone caught hunting a deer had their first two fingers chopped off (repeat offenders were blinded).
• Changes made by Henry II

  • The King's peace
  • Travelling Justices
  • County Gaols
  • Ending of trial by ordeal
  • Justices of the Peace (JPs)
  • Country Coroners
• Social Crime

  Many ordinary people were prepared to break the Forest laws, this is what historians call a 'social crime'. The local community were prepared to turn a blind eye to people collecting firewood or hunting in the King's forests (poaching) because they thought the Forest Laws were very unfair.
• Church Courts


  The Church claimed the right to try an churchman accused of a crime in its own courts. Church courts often dealt with 'moral offences' such as failing to go to Church, drunkeness, adultery, and playing football on a Sunday.
• Benefit of the Clergy

  If a person was accused of a crime they were allowed to claim the right to be tried in a Church court (where the punishments were less severe). This should have meant only priests however others would often use it. You had to prove you worked for the church by reading out a passage from the bible.
• Sanctuary


  If a criminal on the run from the law could reach a Church, he or she could claim sanctuary. Once inside the Church the criminal was under the Church's protection and could not be arrested.
• The Church ended trial by ordeal in 1215. It was seen as unreliable as it was possible that some guilty men and women could escape punishment whilst others were wrongly found guilty.
• Wergild system

  How it worked and why it was better than the 'blood feud'
• 'Social crime'


  Medieval example
• Population growth c.1500-c.1700 made it harder for some to find work, increasing likelihood of crime
• England was wealthier overall but most wealth was in hands of a few, majority were still very poor
• Henry VII made it illegal for anyone other than him to own an army, leaving many men unemployed and penniless
• Henry VIII's destruction of the Monasteries removed the main provider of charity for the poor in England
• Printing increased fear of crime despite evidence suggesting it was actually falling by mid 1600s
• Religious and political turmoil in the period increased public belief in evil and the supernatural, leading to harsher punishments
• Landowners wanted laws that defended their rights and property against threats from the growing number of poor people