Created by Paige Louise
over 6 years ago
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Question | Answer |
Crime and Punishment | Anglo-Saxons |
Anglo-Saxons | - Anglo-Saxon law was more localised than Roman Law as Britain was split up into different kingdoms for much of the period. - The role of the local community grew and the importance of family was key. Loyalty to family was highly prized which had a huge impact on crime and punishment as family groups stuck together in support of their kin. Blood feuds meant the victim or the victims family had the right to take revenge on the person who had done the harm – even by killing them or a person in the family. Sometimes this led to long running family feuds and violence. - The role of the king in law-making also grew. He was in overall charge of the law. Offences against the kings peace such as robbing a traveller, would be punished harshly. |
Church Influence | Church influence on Anglo-Saxon punishments was considerable. The death penalty was rarely used. Instead, mutilations became more common, as this, they believed, gave the guilty a chance to repent ans so save their soul. This introduced a new idea about the purpose of punisment – the idea that offenders could be reformed. However this remained a minority view for many centuries |
Minor crimes (e.g. petty theft) | -Fines |
Major crimes (e.g. mugging) | -Fines -Beatings, floggings |
Stealing | -Cutting off hands and feet |
Slander | -Cutting off tongue |
Most serious crimes (e.g. treason against the king) | -Execution by beheading, burning or hanging |
Summary | • Similar to Romans in that lesser punishments were dealt with similarly and crimes against the ruler was also dealt with harshly • Different as the death penalty was not used as much |
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