1000-1500

• King's Peace


  Anglo-Saxons believed it was the King's duty to take care of law and order so people could go about their everyday lives
• Treason


  Betraying the King—for example, by helping his enemies or plotting to kill or replace him
• Crimes


  • Crimes against the person (e.g. assault, murder)
  • Crimes against property (e.g. theft, robbery, arson)
• Collective Responsibility


  Being responsible for the actions of other members of your group. In a village community, if someone broke the law, it was up to everyone else to take action
• Reeve


  A local official appointed from the community
• Abbey


  Community of monks or nuns
• Moral Crimes


  Actions that didn't physically harm anyone or their property but that didn't match up to society's views on decent behaviour such as having sex outside of marriage or not sticking to the customs of the church
• Petty Theft


  Stealing small, low-value items
• Maiming


  Causing physical harm. A criminal could be punished by having a hand or ear cut off, or their tongue cut out
• Capital punishment


  The death penalty
• Corporal Punishment


  A range of punishments that caused harm or pain to the body including being beaten or having body parts removed
• Retribution


  A severe punishment meant to match the severity of the crime
• Deterrent


  A punishment that is frightening or painful—designed to put people off committing the crime
• Peasant


  A poor person living in the countryside who owns little or no land
• Poaching


  Illegal hunting on land that belongs to someone else
• Brand


  Mark a criminal by burning their flesh with a hot iron. It was permanent to remind people of their criminal past
• Clergy


  People who work for the Church including priests
• Heresy


  Holding a set of beliefs different to those of the established religion of the time
• Consecrated


  Blessed and holy. The bread was used in trial by consecrated bread and believed to be the body of Christ
• Sanctuary


  Safe place, hiding place. Some churches offered people accused of crimes protection from the law
• In 1000, towns were growing in importance especially London and Southampton. Trade contacts with Europe and coined money helped this. Larger communities made crime more common as there were more people in close contact. England's population in 1000 was between 1,700,000 and 2,000,000. 90% of people lived in the countryside. Few lived in towns. These communities were vulnerable to poor harvests, bad weather and diseases. A powerful King and nobles made laws whilst village communities and strong family ties helped enforce the law at a local level.
• The King relied on advisors to help him rule the country and it was his duty to keep the King's Peace. Nobles played an important role in backing laws that protected their interests. The King gave land to nobles in return. Actions that threatened this social structure were classed as crimes against authority e.g. starting a fight or treason. The Church was very powerful and had a responsibility for stopping moral crimes e.g. stealing church property.
• Anglo-Saxon Law Enforcement


  1. Victim's responsibility to seek justice

  2. Whole community played a role in delivering justice

  3. Loyal to community was a duty

  4. Hundreds divided into tithings

  5. Men over 12 responsible for behavior of others

  6. Shire Reeve met regularly with King's representative

  7. Witness raised 'hue and cry'

  8. Hearings with oaths and community support

  9. Trial by ordeal (hot iron, hot water, cold water)
• Murder was punished by fines paid to the victim's family—this was compensation for the loss of life known as the Wergild or 'main-price'. Wergild was paid directly to the victim's family. The fines were determined by social status. Your class affected how much your life was worth. Treason and arson were punished by execution—usually hanging. For lesser crimes, corporal punishment including mutilation could be used. This was meant to act as a deterrent. Punishments like eye-gouging or removing a hand or foot were seen as a more lenient alternative to the death penalty. Criminals with these scars also served as a permanent reminder to others of the consequences. Public punishments using the stocks or pillory were a combination of physical pain and discomfort along with public humiliation.
• Anglo-Saxon Serfs (Peasants) were legally bound to work for their lord under the feudal system—running away was a crime. If a Norman was murdered by an Anglo-Saxon then there was a special penalty known as the 'murdrum fine'. This was a large sum of money paid by the hundred where the body was found. Designed to stop revenge murders that took place after 1066. Continued idea of a tithing and collective responsibility. William declared large stretches of the English countryside to be 'royal forests' to be used for hunting e.g. Nova Foresta. 40 villages were evicted around the New Forest. Previously common-land held by the people was now controlled by the King. Only those who could afford to pay for hunting rights could hunt there. Hunting for food was a crime and this hit poor communities. Created 'social crimes' - crimes that were against the law but most people do not disapprove of. Punishments were deliberately harsh. Any man aged 14 or over who tried to avoid trial by running away was declared an outlaw. They could be killed without any legal consequences for the person responsible.
• Norman castles were placed in every part of the Kingdom. Peasant workers were made to build the castles in which the Norman Lords would live from where they could control the local population. Castles represented the increasingly strong royal authority over law and order. When William faced rebellions to his rule in York and East Anglia, he used brutal means to force people to unite under his control. He ordered extreme punishments and punished large groups to show his power. Some estimates say 100,000 people died from starvation as a result of food shortages. Trial by Combat was a method used to settle disputes over large sums of money or land. The two people involved would fight using swords or sticks. Local collective responsibility continued as did tithings and 'hue and cry'. Community based systems made sense in small villages.
• Continued to rely on a combination of physical punishments, fines and execution. Wergild was ended by the Normans and fines were now paid to the King's officials instead of victims and their families. Punishment was centralized. Increase in the number of crimes that were punishable by death or mutilation. Under the new Forest Laws, poaching was punishable by death. Mutilation was used as an alternative to the death penalty including branding. The Norman system of law was based around the idea of the King's Mund—all men should expect to live safely and peacefully away from crime under the authority of the King.
• The Statute of Laborers made it a law to ask for higher wages (1351). Illegal to look elsewhere for a better paid job. Laws against heresy introduced in 1382, 1401 and 1414. Punishments were severe and burning at the stake was introduced—purifying the corrupt soul.
• Law Enforcement in Later Middle Ages

  1. Community enforcement continued

  2. Increasingly centralized systems for upholding law

  3. 1194—Richard I introduced coroners to deal with suspicious deaths

  4. 1195—Richard I appointed knights as keepers of the 'king's peace'

  5. 1327—Edward III extended this to all areas

  6. 1361—Justices of the Peace (JPs) appointed, met 4 times a year to carry out magistrate duties or enforce the law

  7. Reputation for being harsh on poachers

  8. Appointed by central government, selected on wealth and power
• Fines, stocks, pillories and physical punishments such as maiming and execution usually by hanging. Hanging, drawing and quartering introduced for high treason—plotting to kill the King. A terrifying deterrent! Semi-strangled, then revived, his abdomen cut open and intestines drawn out. Limbs spread across the country.
• The Church was incredibly powerful, c1000-1500. The Clergy were often educated and churches were often the most impressive buildings in a community—their size dominating the landscape and reminding people of the power of God on earth. The Medieval church taught sinners would go to hell. The Church owned 1/5 of the country's wealth. 11th century—William encouraged the Church to set up courts to deal with 'moral crimes' - working on a basis of reform for the criminal. 12th century—Henry II tried to limit the power of the church—concerns about its authority and undermining the standardized system. Constitutions of Clarendon enacted. In the 1290s, English Jews were ordered to convert to Christianity. In 1215, the Pope ordered that all priests should stop helping to organise trials by ordeal and soon the system came to an end. An alternative way of deciding if someone was guilty had to be found—'Trial by Jury' - a group of 12 men. Churches offered 'Sanctuary' to criminals—criminals could swear an oath and vow to leave the country within 40 days instead of going to court. This ended in 1536 during the reign of Henry VIII. Senior Church officials argued that the clergy should only be tried in Church courts—'benefit of clergy'. Church courts rarely imposed the death penalty. System open to abuse—clergy were usually educated and the test involved reciting Psalm 51 'the neck verse'. Criminals memorised it and escaped punishment—system criticised.
• English Kingdoms unite under one King

  954
• William I crowned King of England

  1066