1000-1500

• Crime

  An action that is against the law of the time
• Law

  An act of parliament that has to be followed by everyone in the country. Breaking a law will lead to a punishment
• Decriminalise

  Making a crime from the past, no longer a crime or illegal
• Heresy

  A crime which aims to bring down the religion of the country
• Treason

  A crime which aims to bring down the government of the country
• Petty Theft

  The theft of very low value items
• Poaching

  Illegally hunting on another person's land
• Murder

  The deliberate and planned killing of another person
• Manslaughter

  An accidental or un-planned killing
• Hate Crime

  A crime based on the discrimination against a particular faith or culture
• Law Enforcement

  Methods which are used to make sure that individuals in the country do not break the laws
• Home Secretary

  The member of the government responsible for the police and laws
• Collective Responsibility

  The idea that all people in the community take responsibility for not breaking the law
• Forensic

  The use of science to investigate a crime
• Oath

  Swearing on the bible that a person has not committed a crime. A religious promise
• Vigilance

  Members of a community taking the responsibility to bring a criminal to justice rather than the police
• Punishment

  A penalty for breaking a law. This can be an act of retribution, reformation or a deterrent
• Retribution

  A type of punishment that is equal in size to the crime that has been broken
• Reformation

  A type of punishment which aims to make sure the criminal changes their behaviour
• Deterrent

  A type of punishment which is often harsh enough to persuade others in the community not to carry out the same crime
• Capital punishment

  A punishment which results in the death of a criminal
• Corporal punishment

  A punishment which results in the physical harm of a criminal
• Transportation

  Moving a criminal to another country
• Borstal

  A prison and work camp for young people
• Probation

  The period of time after a prison sentence where the criminal is still supervised
• It was always the victim's responsibility to seek justice if a crime was committed against them. The whole community were expected to play a part in helping a criminal to be found and bring them to justice
• Anyone who witnessed a crime or was a victim would raise the Hue and Cry'. Literally, they would shout for help and everyone who heard this was expected to help capture the suspect. Being loyal to a community was seen as a duty and very rarely broken
• Structure of law enforcement in Anglo-Saxon England

  • Shires
  • Hundreds
  • Tithings
• Hundredsman


  One man who led a group of Hundreds
• Tithingmen

  All men over the age of 12 had to be in a tithing at some point and this would be rotated in the village
• King's Shire Reeve

  One man from each tithing had to meet with a representative from the King
• Beliefs about how the law should be enforced in Anglo-Saxon England

  • Collective responsibility of the local community to police the actions and behaviour of others
  • Justice influenced heavily by religion
  • A person's status/importance in society played a very important role
• Deciding innocence or guilt

  1. Taking an oath

  2. Religious trial
• Oath helpers

  People who supported the accused in swearing an oath of innocence
• Trial by ordeal

  A religious trial where God had the final judgement on innocence or guilt
• Trials by ordeal

  • Trial by hot water
  • Trial by hot iron
  • Trial by cold water
  • Trial by blessed bread (for priests only)
• Wergild

  Compensation or fine paid by the guilty individual to the family of the victim for the crime of murder
• The amount of the wergild depended on the social status of the victim and the criminal
• Capital punishment

  A punishment that results in the death penalty
• Treason and arson were seen as the two most serious crimes and most were punished with the capital punishment of hanging