A mind map containing information on different examples of crime in the 1450s and how various severities lead to different punishments with information on the types of courts used.
Different Types of Crime and How They were Punished -
Depending on How Serious They Were and How Common
Fines, stocks and pillories were all used as punishments for
common and not serious crimes like selling poor quality goods
They were also used with whipping for
rare and fairly serious crimes like assault
Treason, very rare and EXTREMELY serious; was
punished by hanging, drawing and quartering
Heresy (not following official beliefs of the Church),
rare and very serious; was punished by burning at
the stake
Theft of money or goods worth more than 2 days wages or
more was common yet very serious and punishable by hanging
Arson, rape and murder despite being rare were
just as serious and punished in the same way
Fairly serious and common crimes like
blasphemy were punished by branding
Those who made laws
were powerful or wealthy
Crimes that threatened power or
wealth were considered serious
Small villages had "manor courts" with a jury
of 12 men to decide if someone was guilty
The worse the crime, the more
horrible the death penalty
More serious crimes went to the "royal court" where trial by
jury could lead to someone being sentenced the death penalty
"Church courts" dealt with Christians who committed crimes, often moral crimes like
adultery or not paying their tithes or ordinary people breaking official Church rules
There were no police to
catch medieval criminals
The community formed "tithings" (groups of 10 men) who were
responsible for each other
If one of the men in a tithing committed a crime, the other 9 were responsible
for bringing that person to justice or paying a fine to the victim of the crime
If a crime was committed, any bystanders who witnessed the crime were
expected to shout and chase the criminal, this process was known as the
"hue and cry"