c1000 - c1500: Medieval England

Crime in mediaval England
1. Crimes agains the person - varying from fairly serious (assault) to serious (rape/murder)
  1. Murder
  2. Assault
  3. Public disorder
  4. Rape
2. Crimes against property - Varying from not serious (petty theft) to very serious (arson)
  1. Arson
  2. Theft - stealing crops or poaching
  3. Counterfeiting coins
3. Crimes against authority - All seen as serious
  1. Treason
  2. Rebellion
4. What makes something a crime?
  1. An activity that goes agains the law, laws are made by people that govern a country.
  2. During Anglo-Saxon period people who made laws were the people with the power and wealth, crimes that threatened authority and wealth were considered serious and were punished harshly
  3. more serious the crime, the harsher the punishment
5. The king as a law maker
  1. Many Anglo-Saxon laws were based on local custom and not written
  2. By 1000 angle-saxon kings were issuing codes of law that made certain actions crimes, this shows the growing power of the monarch
    1. Laws were becoming more unified across the country. After 1066, the importance of the king in making laws grew as his authority increased. William i added new laws that created new crimes, this shows he was a powerful king the can create change
      1. In the late medieval period, the monarch continued to play a vital role in defining crimes.
        After Henry ii become king in 1154, standard laws were written down, meaning, for the first time, there was a uniform legal system across the whole country
6. Poaching
  1. Without paying 'hunting rights' hunting on other peoples land is called poaching.
    1. A form of theft that increased dramatically after Forest Laws, as peasants used what had previously been common land to catch animals for food. Seen as a social crime because it was considered to be acceptable to many people
      1. Catching animals for food on common land was allowed and helped people survive. reducing amount of common land meant many had to choose between breaking the law and going hungry
'New' crimes in Norman England
1. William i's forest Laws
  1. About 30% of England become 'royal forest' , which William and the Norman nobility used for hunting
  2. Village communities and farms were evicted from this land, which caused resentment
  3. The royal forests were protected by new Forest Laws
  4. Only those people who paid hunting rights were allowed to hunt in the Royal Forest
  5. In the Royal Forests it became illegal to graze animals, kill wild animals or take wood without a licence
  6. The forest laws were seen as unfair by ordinary people so those who broke these laws were not seen as criminals by most people in society
2. Rebellions
  1. Norman invasion was not welcomed by the Anglo-Saxon and there was much resistance for first few years, including rebellions. Betraying your lord and inciting rebellion against the king had been crimes but William I punished these crimes far more harshly to try to assert his authority
    1. Wiliam ordered the death penalty for rebels themselves, different to the anglo-saxons was he punished those not directly involved, estimates suggest 10,000 people starved to death due to the destruction of farmland and animals on William's orders in area that had seen rebellions
3. Murdrum fine
  1. This new law was used to establish control over conquered population. If an Anglo-Saxon murdered a woman and the culprit was not caught, a large sum of money had to be paid by the hundred where the body was found.
    1. Hundred is an area of land
      1. In this way, murdering a Norman become a more serious crime than murdering an Anglo-Saxon, which is another example of how the ruling classes can make laws to benefit themselves
Anglo-Saxon law enforcement
1. Anglo-Saxon society
  1. Around 1000, most people lived on farms or in small hamlets, or in villages and a few small towns (burhs). in the small tight-knit communities, everyone knew everyone and most had a strong sense of deputy towards the community. This was important as crime rate was fairly low and had an impact on how law was enforced
2. Tithings - shires were split into an area called hundreds and each one was divided into ten tithings. Men in a tithing were responsible for each other: if on was accused of a crime the others made sure he went to court or they paid a fine for him.
  1. A shire reeve (later a sheriff) was a man appointed by the community to take criminals to court and make sure punishment was carried out, they also met up with one man from a tithing
  2. Hue and cry - Victim or witness to a crime raised a hue and cry by shouting to alert others. Anyone who heard this was expected to chase and help catch suspected criminal
    1. Courts - If a suspect didn't admit or was not caught in the act their guilt of innocent was decided in a court. There were different courts depending on the Crimean the suspect. Royal courts were national courts that dealt with the most serious crimes. Shire courts dealt with lesser crimes. hundred courts dealt with petty crimes. Court hearing were public
      1. Oaths - Swearing oaths 'before god' was a major part of Anglo-Saxon justice. The accused could swear innocence under oath and others could support them as 'oath helpers'
        Deciding guilt/innocence - The victim or their family provided evidence of the suspects guilt for the court. If the jury couldn't decide, the accused was handed over to the churches god could decide by a trial by ordeal
Norman and later medieval law enforcement
1. Change:
  1. The normans introduced trial by combat (shows military nature of Norman society). Two people involved would fight until one was killed or surrendered (the they would be put to death)
  2. The use of 'foresters' to police Royal Forests and enforce forest laws. They dealt with suspects very harshly and were often feared and hated by local communities
2. Continuity:
  1. Tithings
  2. Hue and cry
  3. The court system
  4. Law enforcement in Mose cases remained the responsibility of the community
3. Later medieval law enforcemenT - As towns grew through 13th and 14th centuries so did crime. Although communities were still involved in law enforcement, authorities become more involved by appointment of officials
4. Parish constables - local people nominated by the community for unpaid position. They did their usual jobs well and help the post for a year
5. Role of local communities
  1. The hue and cry and tithing system continued
    1. if Juries were not able to reach a verdict, trial by combat and ordeal continued to be used by communities as informal methods of law enforcement
      1. From 1250, parish constables led the chase for the criminal after hue and cry was given and tried to keep peace, they arrested suspects.
        Some towns had a night watch, volunteers patrolled the streets. Any suspected criminals they caught were handed over to the constable
        Trial by ordeal and combat were abolished in 1215
6. Role of government-appointed officials
  1. Knights were appointed by Richard I as keepers of the peace in 'unruly' areas from 1195. in 1327 Edward ii extended this to all areas
    1. Following Justices of the peace act in 1361, the role keeper of peace evolved to become justices of the peace. JPs had the power to hear minor crimes in small courts four times a year. They were still appointed by the monarch and mostly local lords
      1. Role of sheriff expanded, he was now expected to track down criminals if hue and cry didn't work. From 1285 he was allowed to form a posse of local men to help chase and catch criminals
Medieval Punishments
1. The aims of punishment was safety for others, retribution and deterrence. The aims normally stayed the same through this period but the types changed:
  1. Fines
    1. Stocks/humiliation
      1. Maiming - corporal
        flogging - corporal
        hanging - capital
        beheading - capital
2. Changes in punishment
  1. anglo-saxon
    1. fines and compensation were most common
    2. system of paying compensation to victims of crime was used for many crimes e.g. murder. - Saxon wergild
    3. corporal punishments were also common but capital was rare
  2. Norman
    1. capital and corporal punishments rose, most crimes became capital offences
    2. breaking forest laws was punished harshly e.g. castration, blinding and hanging
    3. wergild system ended and fines were payed to the king
    4. minor crimes were still punished by fines, whipping or time in stocks
  3. later medieval
    1. capital punishment decreased, although crimes against authority are punished harshly
    2. corporal punishments were widely used, although juries would not convict neighbours unless they regularly offended
    3. fines were more common
3. Social status and punishment
  1. medieval punishments varied depending on class and gender.
    1. e.g the amount of wergild payable in Anglo-Saxon times depended on victim's social class.
    2. e.g. During later medieval periods, commoners were usually hanged for murder while nobles were beheaded
4. Norman punishments
  1. the Norman invasion was not welcomed by Anglo-Saxons and there was much resistance. Harsh punishments carried out in public were seen by Normans as the best way to make others behave
The influence of the church
1. Benefit of the clergy
  1. throughout the 13th century church courts were used to try people accused of moral chimers e.g. sex outside marriage and not following church rites
    1. church courts also trued members of the clergy for crimes. This was known as benefit of the clergy.
      1. People proved their right by reading a passage from the bible - priests were some of the few members of society who could read. Many laymen memorised a passage to recite in court
        Punishments given by the church courts are generally more lenient as the church wanted to give people a chance to reform.
        The significance is that it illustrates how the justice system in medieval times was not equal - it provided a way for people to be treated differently.
        Also benefit of the clergy was not available to women as women couldn't be priests
2. Sanctuary was offered by important churches only, people could claim it by going to one. priests would report the crime but no one was allowed to arrest the accused, they could agree to go to court or swear an oath to leave the country. if accused had not left within 40 days then they would be outlawed
3. Trial by ordeal
  1. First used in Anglo-Saxon times but still being used at the start of the 13th century. in cases where a person's guilt or innocence could not be decided by a court the church used trial by ordeal
    1. Various methods were used but the outcome of all was seen as 'God's judgment' In 1215 the pope ordered his priests to stop these trials and they quickly ended
      1. Trial by hot water or iron - If healed well then person was innocent
      2. Trial by water - if person sank they were innocent
      3. Trial by consecrated bread - Only for priests, if they chocked they were guilty

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c1000 - c1500: Medieval England

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	Created by Rhianna Nicoll over 6 years ago