crime and punishment

• Anglo-Saxon society


  • Influenced by 3 main categories:
  • Family and community
  • Christian Church
  • Power of the King
• Policing methods in Anglo-Saxon society

  1. Tithing (10 men responsible for each other's actions)

  2. Hue and cry (village expected to chase criminal)

  3. Collective responsibility
• Blood feud


  Legitimate under Anglo-Saxon law to take revenge on family who wronged you
• Trial by oath


  1. Swear oath in front of community to say you did not commit crime

  2. Damaging reputation if oath broken
• Punishments in Anglo-Saxon society

  • Pillory and stocks (humiliation)
  • Branding with letter F (mark as felon)
  • Outlawing (outcasts from community)
• Trial by ordeal


  Belief that God decided outcome of case
• King's peace


  Crimes considered as breaking the King's peace, punished severely
• Severe punishments


  • Beheading
  • Mutilation or maiming
  • Hanging at 100 boundary
• Trial by jury


  Rarely used, the jury already has an opinion of the accused which affects the outcome
• Swearing of an oath


  One of the most commonly used ways of settling disputes or legal matters in Anglo-Saxon England, the accused swears they have not committed a crime, they fear going to hell if they break the oath, and the community will reject them as an oathbreaker and liar if they do
• Trial by ordeal


  The Anglo-Saxons believed God decided the outcome of these cases
• The medieval period covers the end of the Anglo-Saxon era, Norman England and later medieval England. Across all three eras there were some actions that have always been regarded as crimes, such as theft and murder.
• Crimes against the person


  Varying from fairly serious (assault) to serious (rape and murder)
• Crimes against property


  Varying from not serious (petty theft or selling poor quality goods) to very serious (arson)
• Crimes against authority


  All seen as extremely serious
• Poaching


  Hunting wild animals on other people's land without paying 'hunting rights'. It's a form of theft that increased dramatically after the Forest Laws, as peasants used what had previously been common land to catch animals for food. It is seen as a 'social' crime because it was considered to be acceptable to many people – catching animals for food on common land was allowed and helped people survive.
• After the Norman conquest in 1066, King William I wanted to establish his royal authority over his new kingdom. One of the ways he did this was by adding new crimes to the existing Anglo-Saxon ones, such as rebellion, and those covered by the Forest Laws and the Murdrum fine.
• Rebellions


  The Norman invasion was not welcomed by the Anglo-Saxons and there was much resistance for the first few years, including large rebellions in York and East Anglia. Betraying your lord and inciting rebellion against a king had been crimes in Anglo-Saxon times, but William I punished these crimes far more harshly to try to assert his authority.
• Murdrum fine


  This new law was used to help establish control over the conquered population. If an Anglo-Saxon murdered a Norman, and the culprit was not caught, a large sum of money had to be paid by the hundred where the body was found.
• About 30% of England became 'Royal Forest', which William I and the Norman nobility used for hunting. Village communities and farms were evicted from this land, which caused resentment. The Royal Forests were protected by new Forest Laws. Only those people who paid for hunting rights were allowed to hunt in the Royal Forest. In the Royal Forests it became illegal to graze animals, kill wild animals or take wood without a licence. The Forest Laws were seen as unfair by ordinary people so those who broke these laws were not seen as criminals by most people in society.
• Throughout medieval times there was no official 'police force'. During the Anglo-Saxon period, the community was largely responsible for both preventing crime and catching criminals.
• Tithings


  Shires were split into areas called hundreds and each hundred was divided into ten tithings. All people in a tithing were responsible for each other: if one was accused of a crime, the others made sure he went to court or the tithing would have to pay a fine for them. A shire reeve (later the sheriff) was a local man appointed by the community to take criminals to courts and make sure any punishment was carried out. He also met regularly with one man from each tithing.
• Hue and cry


  The victim or a witness to a crime raised a hue and cry by shouting to alert others. Anyone who heard the hue and cry was expected to chase and help catch the suspected criminal.
• Oaths


  Swearing oaths 'before God' was a major part of Anglo-Saxon justice. The accused could swear their innocence under oath and others could support them as 'oath helpers'.
• Courts


  If the suspect did not admit to the crime, or was not caught in the act, their guilt or innocence had to be decided by a court. There were different courts depending on the type of crime committed and the person who committed it – royal courts were national courts that dealt with the most serious of crimes; lesser crimes were dealt with in shire courts; and petty crimes were dealt with in hundred courts. Court hearings, in which the punishment that convicted criminals would receive was decided, took place in public.
• Deciding guilt or innocence


  The victim or their family provided evidence of the suspect's guilt for the court. If the jury couldn't decide, the accused was handed over to the Church so God could decide a person's guilt or innocence in a trial by ordeal.
• The Normans introduced trial by combat (showing the more military nature of Norman society) as another way of settling disputes. The two people involved would fight until one was killed or surrendered (and he would then be put to death anyway).
• Another change was the use of 'foresters' to police the Royal Forests and enforce Forest Laws. They dealt with suspects very harshly and were often feared and hated by the local communities.
• Parish constables


  These were local people nominated by the community. It was an unpaid position. Constables did their usual jobs as well. They held the post for a year.
• From the 1250s, parish constables led the chase for the criminal after the hue and cry was given and tried to keep the peace. They arrested suspects.
• Some towns also had a night watch, in which volunteers patrolled the streets. Any suspected criminals they caught were handed over to the constable.
• Trial by ordeal and by combat were abolished in 1215.
• Following the Justices of the Peace Act (1361), the role of keeper of the peace evolved to become Justice of the Peace. JPs had the power to hear minor crimes in small courts four times a year. They were still appointed by the monarch and were mostly local lords.
• From 1285, the sheriff was allowed to form a posse of local men to help chase and catch criminals.
• Punishments in medieval England

  • Fines and compensation (most common in Anglo-Saxon)
  • Corporal punishments (fairly common in Anglo-Saxon, increased in Norman)
  • Capital punishment (rarely used in Anglo-Saxon, more common in Norman, decreased in later medieval)
• The Wergild system was ended and fines were paid to the king in the Norman period.
• Very minor crimes were still punished by fines, whipping or time in the stocks in the later medieval period.
• Use of capital punishment gradually decreased in the later medieval period, although crimes against authority were still harshly punished.
• As towns and cities grew through the 13th and 14th centuries, so did crime. Although communities were still involved in law enforcement, the authorities became more involved through the appointment of officials.
• Punishments in Anglo-Saxon, Norman and later medieval periods


  • Fines and compensation
  • Corporal punishments (but capital punishment rarely used)
  • Capital and corporal punishments used more, more offences became capital crimes