Punishment 1B

• The Normans continued to rely on a combination of physical punishments, crimes and executions, but these became more centralised.
• There was also an increased use of harsh punishments including execution. Mutilation, such as branding or chopping off a body part, was used as an alternative to the death penalty in some cases.
• After resistance against William the Conqueror in York, he ordered what was called the Harrying of the North. Farmlands were destroyed and animals were killed. Up to 100,000 people may have died of starvation as a result.
• If a Norman was murdered by an Anglo Saxon and the murderer was not found, the hundred where the body was found would have to pay a murdrum fine. This was supposed to make it less likely that people would cover up the crime of a neighbour.
• The system of wergild was ended, and fines were now paid to the king’s officials instead of victims of crime.
• Normans believed all men should be able to live peacefully under the ‘King’s mund’, which continued the idea of the ‘king’s peace’.