mifdle ages draft

• To avoid a trial, criminals who knew they were guilty and who escaped the hue and cry could try to join an outlaw gang in a forest
• Seek sanctuary-churches and eith- eduals offered sanctuary for 40 days and nights to criminals on the run. If they completed the 40 clays, they could confess to a coroner and then abjure the realm (had to leave Engiand forever in the church, they had to wear a special vobe
• Have powerful friends- most cases were heard first at manor courts. If jurors felt sympathetic, they could dismiss the case or decide the value of Stolen property was less than 12cl. The most powerfull friend was a local lord. They, Could use vetcliners to pressurise juries to drop cases or make sure juries were made up of the lord's own supporters
• Refuse to plead-Some brave prisoners refused to plead at trials. They were sent to gaol and lived of rotten bread in all and dirty water unti they changed their o their mind. It may have lead to long, Slow cinc unpleasaint cleath, but it Saved the family of the accused from having to hand any be fai- property to the king
• Say that the killing was done in self-defence of accidentally. if So, the offender was guilty of excuscible homicide' and would receive a royal parcon, however, the king still took the criminals Property
• Buy a pardon from the king - only possible for wealthiest people but happened, Surprisingly often as kings were always eager for more money
• Serve abroad in the army, the king pardoned them
• Be pregnant Pregnant woman were never executed before childbirth. -ged their sentence was often changed to a fine
• Claim benefits of clergy - Royal courts such as the assizes could try Priests but not punish them. Only the church could do that and the Church didn't execute people = "benefit of clergy”. As many people claimed to be priests, a law passed in 1351 that they had to read a particular verse from the Bible begging God for mercy. Many illiterate criminals learnt it and educated men could escape death but women couldn't be priests. After, the priest may be shamed publicly, have to abjure the realm and lose property to king
• Become a king's approver- Walter de Blowberme became an approver and named 10 guilty men (serious crime)and was allowed to abjure the realm. But a year late he returned and committed a crime so he was hanged a robber in 1250
• All fines from manor courts went to the lord. It was an effective way to make move money from their land
• Mayors & town leaders took fines imposed by borough Courts for offender offences by traders, theives or even gamblers
• Church courts imposed fines for sing like gambling Church kept more
• kings got the fines powd at hundred court and at the Suculer sessions. They received fines from villages that failed to rause nue and cry Nobles who disobeyed king paid large lines
• Manor colives sometimes made female scolds sit in public on a cucking Stool-wooden toilet
• Borough courts often made trackers sit in stocks or stand cit a pillory for cheating customers by selling Faulty goods 1331-people in Lincoln complained that their mayor was fining too many traders and should be using the pillory instead
• Church court shamed Durham priest who slept with a mans wife. He had to publicly confess his sin at the cathedrals main altar
• Prisons weren't used as a punishment for serious crimes, but a prisoner awaiting trial might spend months in gaol. imprisonment was used to punish clebtors, forgers, offenclers who couldn't pay their fines and people who t Falsely accused someone at trics
• Gaiols were rough, Linnealthy pickles. Prisoners had to supply their own bedding, food & drink or by these from their gaoler. He was unpaid but earned his living from prisoners Poor Prisoners of len sat begging. This was their only way of being able to pay their gaoler. Richer prisoners may ve could attemore comfortable rooms incas Hes as they be kept in
• Hanging until criminal was strangled. The neck was ravely broken. Punishment for deliberate homicicle, rape (before 1275 criminal would be ecstrated not hanged), theft of good's worth >12d (from (1275), burglary & feven if robbery (even if nothing was stolen). Over 30%. of hangings were for non-violent crimes
• Hanging, drawing and quartering-criminal was hanged but taken down to be cut in pieces alive. Punishment for high trecison (plotting to kill king) or counterfeiting gold / silver coins
• Being burned ellive on a bonfire (bone-five). Punish- ment for petty treason (woman kill husband, Servant kill master), heresy, such as beliefs of Lollards (the Church tried to avoid executing people,so king orclered chcirch to send Convicted Lollards to sheriff who had them burned)
• Local variations of hanging had gone by 1350 but they snow now punishments," lile Icws, often had a local character in early Middle Ages Examples include being thrown from the cliffs at Dover, being buried alive at Sandwich, being tied to ti vock cit seci in Scilly Isles, the Criminal was left at low tide and given bread twater, as tice came in he drowned
• In cases of serious crime, all property of person found guilty, executed or not, was Passecl to the king. The innocent victims or their families never regained their valuables
• 2 of 100 were appointed yearly to Supervise law order in their oveo. usually quite wealthy farmers and From the role, gained local status. Their Main duty was to ensure every fuee man between 15-60 was equipped and recidy to take up arms in the army or Posheriff's posse
• one year appointment- one responsible man in each parish had to take this role with his usual job. He had to ensure his parish could supply armed men and from 1363, he had to ensure they practiced eirchery every Sunday and arrest suspicious Streingers Above cull,) people were essential in keeping law & order. men were grouped in 10's called tithings and if one broke the law, the others had to bring him to court. At q Crime, the victim would call for ci nue and cry-all within earshot had to stop what they were doing and join in a nunt for the Criminal-if the village failed it would result in a huge fine
• Justice of Peace- came into being in 1361 after role had developed in the previous century. twice a year and the king appointedly met ups in each county to take over the sheriffs court duties. Passed really serious cases to assizes, but judged others in their own courts with a jury of locals. After 1383, they did this 4 times per year in quarter sessions. unpaid but educated & Wealthy. essential and effective for 100s of years
• The job of the coroner is to examine bodies and discover the cause of why people have died