History- crime and punishment

• Crimes against a person

  Crimes that inflict harm on a person
• Examples of crimes against a person

  • murder
  • rape
  • harassment
  • domestic violence
  • assault
• Comes against property

  Crimes of theft where there is no threat or force or violence towards an individual
• Examples of crimes against property

  • burglary
  • car theft
  • arson (deliberately setting fire to something)
• Crimes against authority

  Crimes that threaten or oppose the government or leaders
• Examples of crimes against authority

  • treason
  • conspiracy
  • espionage (spying or using spies to gather information)
• What are the three main categories of punishment

  • retribution
  • deterrence
  • rehabilitation or reform
• What is retribution?

  the punishment given to someone which was intended to get revenge for their crime. for example, blood feud, mutilation and the death penalty
• What is deterrence?

  The punishment given to someone that was intended to scare them and others from committing further crimes. for example, public whipping, death penalty, stocks and pillory
• how did the local community organise law enforcement?

  1. tithings
  2. hue and cry
• What are tithings?

  A group of 10 men (ages 12+) who were responsible for eachother. if someone commits a crime, it is their responsibility to catch and bring the criminal to court.
• what is hue and cry?

  When a member of the tithings witnessed a crime, they must let out a “cry” of alarm and anyone who heard has to give chase
• What is capital punishment?

  Serious crimes (such as treason) could result in the death penalty
• What is corporal punishment?

  Minor crimes (eg theft) could result in whipping, having a hand/ear chopped off
• What is Trial by ordeal?

  4 trials for the purpose of god deciding who is innocent or guilty. Trials involve the hot water, cold water, hot iron and blessed bread
• Hot water trial

  1. Use hand to pick up object in boiling water

  2. Hand would be bandaged up

  3. If after 3 days it was healed they are innocent
• Hot iron trial

  1. Hold burning hot weight

  2. Hand would be bandaged up

  3. If after 3 days the burn is healed the accused was innocent
• Blessed bread trial

  If the accused can eat the bread without choking then they are innocent
• Cold water trial

  1. If the accused floats when lowered into the water they are guilty

  2. If they don't float they are innocent but would still die due to drowning
• What is trial by ordeal?

  Witnesses would give their versions of events of the incident in which a crime took place. The jury would decide who is guilty or innocent
• What year did the normans take over England?

  1066
• How did the normans change law enforcement?


  Introduced new laws: murdrum fine, forest laws and trial by combat. they kept capital and corporal punshiment, trial by ordeal, trial by local jury, tithings, hue and cry. Kept fines but got rid of wergild.
• What is the murdrum fine

  If a norman was murdered, all the people of the region would join together to pay a large fine
• What is trial by ordeal

  The accused would fight it out and whoever died was guilty and whoever won was innocent
• What is heresy 


  To have a set beliefs or actions that are different from the established religious beliefs of the country
• what was the punishment for heresy

  Burned at the stake
• When was heresy the most serious crime?

  1534 as it was now considered treason
• the roles of the church in law enforcement:

  • church courts
  • benefit of the clergy (clergy is someone who works for the church)
  • sanctuary
  • trial by ordeal
• When was trial by ordeal ended and by who?

  1215 by pope innocent 111
• What are the church courts?

  the church has the right to try any churchman accused of a crime in its own courts. However, unlike an ordinary courts, church courts NEVER sentenced people to death. Church courts also dealt with a range of moral offences such as failure to attend church and playing football on a Sunday and drunkness
• What is benefit of the clergy? 


  An accused person claimed the right to be tried in the more lenient church courts. Anyone loosely connected to church used it to escape tougher punishment, however it was only meant to be intended for priests. To avoid this issue, the church used a test requiring the accused to read a verse of the bible ( as most people were illiterate). however people managed to pass the test by memorising it and it became known as the neck verse as it saved people from the hangman’s noose
• What is sanctuary?


  once a criminal claimed sanctuary, they were under the protection of the church. They then had 40 days to reached either to face trial or leave the country. If they left the country, they had to go barefoot whilst carrying a wooden cross to the nearest port