Important Aspects

werguild was a sum of money used to pay compensation to the family of anyone you had killed (accidentally or on purpose)
botguild was a sum of money used to pay compensation to anyone you had physically injured (not killed) accidentally or on purpose
tithing was a group of men who had to be responsible for each others' behaviour. if one committed a crime the others had the responsibility of getting him to court to face judgement.
anyone witnessing a crime had to raise the 'hue and cry' - a shout for anyone to come and help chase a criminal or sort out a fight or crime. failure to raise or respond was seen as a great cry
repeat offenders were often punished by amputation of limbs instead of execution as the church wanted time to save their souls, not just kill them for punishment
members of the clergy were trained to read and write and were often employed by the king or nobles to keep records
many activities that had not been crimes under the Romans became crimes under the Anglo-Saxons due to the role of the church
TRIAL BY ORDEAL
TRIAL BY JURY
eg slander was punished by cutting out the offenders tongue
used when jury members could not agree with each other, usually in cases of theft or murder when there was no witnesses and so God is asked to reveal the truth as, even though human beings may not know the truth, God definitely would.
trial by hot water
trial by hot iron
trial by cold water
trial by consecrated bread
whichever kind was used, a careful religious ritual was followed. the accused had to fast for three days preceding a trial and hear mass in a church. all the trails, except trial by cold water, were conducted in a church.
mainly used to prove innocence or guilt of men accused of crimes
accused put hand into boiling water and had to pick up an object, and the arm was then bandaged. if in three days it was healing cleanly, the person was deemed to be innocent
mainly used to prove innocence of guilt of women accused of crimes
accused had to carry a piece of red-hot iron for three metres. her hand was then bandaged and unwrapped three days later. if the wound was healing cleanly and without festering God was saying the woman was innocent.
used by both sexes, but mainly men, to prove innocence or guilt.
people believed the water was pure and so would reveal truth. accused was lowered into a river or pond (as close to the church as possible) on the end of a rope which was knotted around the waist. if the person sank and the knot went below the surface, the person was innocent as the 'pure' water was willing to accept this person beneath its surface. if he and the knot floated, this rejection by the water proved his guilt.
taken by priests to prove their innocence or guilt
priest had to pray he would choke on bread if he lied, and then he had to eat a piece of consecrated bread. if he choked, he was guilty as God would not allow a sinner to eat consecrated bread.
seemed lenient, but was in fact seen as the most effective derivative of trial by ordeal as God was sure to punish a dishonest priest
decided innocence or guilt based on evidence but if there was not conclusive evidence, judgement was made based on the character of the accused/accuser
compurgation = oath sworn by jury members to say accused was guilty based not upon evidence, but on the character of the accused/accuser

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GCSE History Notiz am Anglo Saxon Crime and Punishment - created from Mind Map, erstellt von lucyh.charles13 am 16/04/2014.

Anglo Saxon Crime and Punishment - created from Mind Map