History Crime and Punishment

• Saxon crime prevention & policing

  • Blood feuds
  • Wergild
  • Hue and cry
  • Tithing
  • Trial by ordeal
• Blood feud


  If a person committed a crime against another then the victim's family may have a blood feud with the criminal's family, allowing the victim's family to take revenge
• Wergild


  Compensation paid to the victim's family for damage to a person, with set amounts for various parts of the body
• Hue and cry


  If a member of the community saw a crime, they would cry out for others to come apprehend the criminal
• Tithing


  A group of 10 men who were all responsible for bringing each other to justice if a crime was committed
• Trials by ordeal


  • Trial by fire (hot iron)
  • Trial by hot water
  • Trial by cold water
  • Trial by sacrament (blessed bread)
• Trial by ordeal


  • Passed the judgement of innocence or guilt over to God
• Reasons why the Saxon system is fair


  • The system of justice was the same for everyone
  • With trial by ordeal everyone had the same chance of being protected by God
  • Humiliation was used as punishment so losing a family member to execution did not disadvantage families
  • Juries at the folkmoot were people who knew the accused and could be bias
• Reasons why the Saxon system is unfair

  • Trial by ordeal was based on religious belief and not factual evidence
  • By using the tithings people could be punished for the crimes of another
  • Ordeals for the clergy were not as harsh as other ordeals for non-clergy
• Changes the Normans introduced

  • Introduction of trial by combat
  • Murdrum fines
  • Forest laws
  • Harrying of the North
  • Travelling justices
  • County gaols
  • Trial by jury
  • Justice of the Peace (JPs)
  • County coroners
• Trial by combat


  The accused and the accuser would fight until either the death or one of the two gave in, with the loser considered to have been forsaken by God and therefore guilty
• Murdrum fines


  A hefty fine given to the whole village if a Norman was killed and the killer could not be found, to encourage the village to inform on the killer
• Forest laws


  Laws that prohibited Saxons from hunting deer, carrying bows, or chopping wood in protected woodland areas
• Harrying of the North

  William I's harsh reaction to rebellions, including burning down villages and killing livestock, to deter further rebellion
• Travelling justices


  People given power by the king to hear cases and make judgements on his behalf, making the court system more efficient
• County gaols


  Prisons used as a form of punishment, rather than just holding people prior to going to court
• Trial by jury


  A 12-man jury trial, which became the basic model still used today, replacing trial by ordeal
• Justice of the Peace (JPs)

  Justices appointed to each county with the power to fine, bind, and arrest people disturbing the peace
• County coroners


  People appointed to investigate unexpected or suspicious deaths
• Benefit of the clergy

  The right of priests to have any discretion tried by the Church courts, which were seen as less harsh
• Sanctuary


  If someone committed a crime and made it to a church, they could claim sanctuary and be protected from the law for 40 days
• Key changes in society 1500-1750


  • The price of food
  • Population growth
  • Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries
• New crimes 1500-1750


  • Witchcraft
  • Vagrancy
  • Heresy
• Witchcraft


  Laws made death the punishment, with accusations often targeting unfortunate or strange-looking people
• How to spot a witch

  • Having a witch mark
  • Typically being an elderly woman
  • Having a familiar
  • Missing church
  • Unintelligible muttering