History crime and punishment

• 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
• Crime


  An activity that breaks a law. Laws are made by the people who govern a country.
• During the Anglo-Saxon period the people who made the laws were the people with power and wealth. Crimes that threatened this authority and wealth were considered serious and were harshly punished.
• Crimes against the person

  • Murder
  • Assault
  • Public disorder
  • Rape
• Crimes against property


  • Arson
  • Theft, such as stealing crops or poaching
  • Counterfeiting coins
• Crimes against authority


  • Treason
  • Rebellion
• Many laws in Anglo-Saxon times were still based on local custom and were not written down, However, by 1000 Anglo-Saxon kings were issuing codes of law that made certain actions crimes, illustrating the growing power of the monarch.
• After 1066, the importance of the king in making laws grew as his authority increased. William I added new laws that created new crimes, illustrating how a powerful king can lead to change.
• In the later medieval period, the monarch continued to play a vital role in defining what a crime was. After Henry II became king in 1154, standard laws were written down, meaning that, for the first time, there was a uniform legal system across the whole country.
• Poaching


  Hunting wild animals on other people's land without paying "hunting rights' is known as poaching. 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.
• The other huge authority in defining criminal activity across the medieval period was the Church. The Church created laws that criminalised some actions, influenced the types of punishment given in response and played a direct role in deciding guilt or innocence.
• William I's Forest Laws

  • About 30% of England became Royal Forest", which Willan I and the Norman nobility used for hunting
  • Village communities and farms were evicted from this land, which caused resentment
  • 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
• Rebellion


  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.
• Hundred


  An area of land
• 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.
• Anglo-Saxon law enforcement


  • 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
  • Hue and cry: The victim or a witness to a crime raised a hue and cry by shouting to alert others
  • 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
  • Oaths: Swearing oaths before God was a major part of Anglo-Saxon justice
• After 1066, the Normans kept much of the Anglo-Saxon system of law enforcement. There were more changes in later medieval times that saw the start of the move towards the authorities being more responsible for enforcing the law.
• Norman law enforcement


  • Continuity: The Anglo-Saxon system of tithings, the hue and cry and the court system continued
  • Change: The Normans introduced trial by combat as another way of settling disputes
  • Change: The use of 'foresters' to police the Royal Forests and enforce Forest Laws
• Later medieval law enforcement

  • Continuity: The hue and cry system continued, as did tithings
  • Change: From the 1250s, parish constables led the chase for the criminal after the hue and cry was given and tried to keep the peace
  • Change: Some towns also had a night watch, in which volunteers patrolled the streets
  • Change: Trial by ordeal and by combat were abolished in 1215
  • Change: Knights were appointed by Richard I as keepers of the peace in some 'unruly areas from 1195
  • Change: Following the Justices of the Peace Act (1361), the role of keeper of the peace evolved to become Justice of the Peace
  • Change: The role of the sheriff expanded. He was now expected to track down criminals & the hue and cry hadn't worked
• Types of medieval punishment

  • Fines
  • Stocks
  • Maiming (corporal)
  • Flogging (corporal)
  • Hanging (capital)
  • Beheading (capital)
• Changes in types of medieval punishment

  • Anglo-Saxon: Fines and compensation were most common. Corporal punishments were also fairly common but capital punishment was rarely used.
  • Norman: Use of capital and corporal punishments rose dramatically. More offences became capital crimes. The Wergild system was ended and fines were paid to the king.
  • Later medieval: Use of capital punishment gradually decreased, although crimes against authority were still harshly punished. Corporal punishments were still common.
• Types of punishment


  • Pines
  • Stocks
  • Mutilation (corporal)
  • Flogging (corporal)
  • Hanging (capital)
  • Beheading (capital)
• Changes in types of medieval punishment

  1. Anglo-Saxon: Fines and compensation most common, corporal punishments fairly common, capital punishment rarely used

  2. Norman: Use of capital and corporal punishments rose dramatically, more offences became capital crimes, Wergild system ended

  3. Later medieval: Use of capital punishment gradually decreased, corporal punishments still widely used, fines became more common
• The Church influenced punishment during both the Anglo-Saxon and later Middle Ages, wanting the aim of punishment to involve reforming the criminal
• Social status


  Affected the type of punishment received - commoners treated differently from nobles, women differently from men, priests differently from ordinary people
• Examples of social status affecting punishment

  • Amount of Wergild payable depended on victim's social status
  • Commoners usually hanged for murder, nobles usually beheaded
• Capital punishment


  Killing the criminal
• Corporal punishment


  Physically hurting the criminal
• Retribution


  Making a criminal suffer for the crime committed
• Deterrence


  Trying to prevent others or the criminal from carrying out crime
• Benefit of clergy


  1. Church courts tried members of the clergy for all crimes

  2. People proved their right to benefit of clergy by reading a passage from the Bible

  3. Punishments given by Church courts were generally more lenient
• Sanctuary


  1. Offered by some important churches

  2. Accused could go to the church and the priest would report the crime but no one was allowed to arrest the accused

  3. Accused could either go to court or swear an oath to leave the country
• Benefit of clergy and sanctuary showed how the Church operated an alternative justice system outside the control of other authorities
• Trial by ordeal

  1. Used in cases where a person's guilt or innocence could not be decided by a court

  2. Various methods used, outcome seen as God's judgement

  3. Ended in 1215 when the pope ordered priests to stop administering these trials
• Changes in society in early modern England included increase in population, decline of feudalism, changes in religious beliefs, and enclosure of land
• Crimes that increased in early modern England

  • Crimes against the person (street criminals, petty thieves)
  • Crimes against property (poaching)
  • Crimes against authority (heresy, treason)
• Treason


  The crime of plotting or acting to overthrow or harm the ruler or country
• Heresy


  The crime of having religious beliefs that were different to the official religion of the country