crime and punishment

• 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
• Crime


  An activity that breaks a law
• Laws


  Made by the people who govern a country
• Crimes that threatened authority and wealth were considered serious and were harshly punished
• Crimes against the person

  • Murder
  • Assault
  • Rape
• Crimes against property


  • Arson
  • Theft
  • 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
• 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
• After Henry I 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'
• Poaching is 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
• Poaching 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
• Reducing the amount of common land meant many had to choose between breaking the law and going hungry
• 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
• Crimes against the person

  Murder, assault, rape
• Crimes against property


  Arson, theft, poaching, counterfeiting coins
• Crimes against authority


  Treason, rebellion
• After the Norman conquest in 1066, King William I wanted to establish his royal authority over the 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
• The Forest Laws meant that 30% of England became Royal Forest, which William I protected by new forest laws
• Only those people who paid for the right to work in the Royal Forests were allowed to hunt or take wood without a license
• The Forest Laws were hated by the people so those who broke these laws were treated as criminals in society
• 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
• William I also punished those who were not directly involved in the rebellions - estimates suggest that 100,000 people starved to death due to the destruction of farmland and animals on William's orders in the areas that had seen rebellions
• Murdrum fine


  A new law 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
• Murdering a Norman became a more serious crime than murdering an Anglo-Saxon, which is another example of how the ruling classes can make laws to benefit themselves
• 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
• Around the year 1000, most people lived in small hamlets or on farms, or in villages and a few small towns (burhs). In these small, tight-knit communities everyone knew everyone else and most people had a strong sense of duty towards their community
• This was an important reason why the crime rate was fairly low and had an impact on how the law was enforced
• The Church played a huge role in medieval law enforcement
• Tithings - Shires were split into areas called hundreds and each hundred was divided into ten tithings. All men in a tithing were responsible for each other: if one was accused of a crime, the others made sure he went to court or they would have to pay a fine for him
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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'
• 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