Medieval England - c1000 - c1500

How were crimes organised in Anglo-Saxon England?

Crimes against the person, property or authority.

What is a crime against the person?

Harm or threat to an individuals physical safety.

Give examples of crimes against the person in Anglo-Saxon England.

Mudder, assault and kidnapping.

What is a crime against property?

Theft, damage or destruction of belongings.

Give examples of crimes against property in Anglo-Saxon England.

Theft, burglary and arson.

What is a crime against the authority?

Crimes that defied or challenged the king’s rule or laws passed by royal courts.

Give examples of crimes against the authority in Anglo-Saxon England.

Treason, rebellion and disobedience to royal officers.

What was the social hierarchy is Anglo-Saxon England?

King, Earls/Nobility, Yeoman, Peasants/Serfs and Slaves.

Who is at the top of the hierarchy in Anglo-Saxon England?

The king.

Who is at the top of the hierarchy in Anglo-Saxon England?

Peasants/Serfs + Slaves.

Majority of people in Anglo-Saxon England were ___.

Peasants/Serfs.

Was law enforcement in Anglo-Saxon England centralised or decentralised? Why?

Decentralised because the king, nobility, church and local communities shared responsibility for justice.

What was the role of the king in Anglos-Saxon England?

• Created new laws through codes of law that reflected societal needs. Codes of law could also strengthen or modify old laws that were ineffective.

• Maintained the ‘king’s peace’, ensuring law and order across the kingdom.

• Acted as the ultimate figure of justice.

What did the king aim to maintain in Anglo-Saxon England?

King’s peace.

Who made new laws in Anglo-Saxon England?

The king.

What was the role of the nobility in Anglos-Saxon England?

• Enforced laws locally in their own territories.

• Oversee local courts and ensure that the king’s royal law was upheld.

• Advise the king when new laws were being made.

Who enforced laws locally in Anglo-Saxon England?

The nobility.

How was Anglo-Saxon England divided?

Shires, hundreds and tithings.

Did the majority of people in Anglo-Saxon England live in towns or rural communities?

Rural communities.

Many people in Anglo-Saxon England lived in rural communities. What did this mean for crime and law enforcement?

This formed close, tight knit communities, meaning that crime rate was low and law was enforced through a sense of duty to the community and collective responsibility.

What percentage of people lived in small, rural communities in Anglo-Saxon England?

90%.

In Anglo-Saxon England, what was each shire divided into?

Hundreds.

In Anglo-Saxon England, what was each hundred divided into?

10 tithings.

How many households did each tithing contain in Anglo-Saxon England?

10.

How many households made up a tithing?

10.

Who administered the law in each shire?

Shire reeves.

What was the role of shire reeves?

They enforced law and brought criminals to justice in their shires.

If someone witnessed or was victim to a crime in Anglo-Saxon England, what did they have to do?

Raise a hue and cry.

What happened if the hundred failed to raise a hue and cry or someone refused to help?

Fine to the entire community as a collective punishment.

What is a tithing?

A group of 10 households.

Why did tithings in Anglo-Saxon England create collective responsibility in law enforcement?

If one member committed a crime, it was the duty of the group to bring him to justice or face penalties like fines.

How did law enforcement in Anglo-Saxon England emphasise collective responsibility for community safety?

• In tithings, if one member committed a crime, it was the duty of the group to bring him to justice or face penalties like fines.

• In the hue and cry, all able bodied men in the community had to drop everything that the were doing to join the chase or faced fines.

What judged moral crimes in Anglo-Saxon England?

The Church.

What was trial by ordeal?

A trial used to determine someone’s innocence based on the belief that divine intervention would reveal of someone is guilty or innocent.

Which 3 trials were included in trial by ordeal?

Trial by water, hot water, fire and consecrated bread.

Explain how trial by water worked.

The accused was thrown into blessed water by a priest. Sinking indicated innocence as the hold water accepted them; floating suggested guilt.

If someone sank in trial by water, would this mean they were innocent or guilty?

Innocent.

If someone floated in trial by water, would this mean they were innocent or guilty?

Guilty.

Explain how trial by fire worked.

Carrying a red-hot iron a certain distance or walking on fire. Clean healing of wounds within a set period of time implied innocence.

Explain how trial by hot water worked.

The hand was placed in boiling water and then bandaged for a few days. If the wounds were healed cleanly, they were innocent.

Explain how trial by consecrated bread worked.

Clergy members had to swallow blessed bread. Difficulty swallowing or choking indicated guilt.

Which trial by ordeal did clergy members often have to do?

Trial by consecrated bread.

Was a trial by jury or a trial by ordeal a last resort in Anglo-Saxon England?

Trial by ordeal.

What was included in trial by jury?

• Juries consisted of local men who knew the people involved.

• They gave sworn testimony and helped decide the outcome based on reputation and familiarity with the case.

• Their local knowledge helped them to discuss the case and reach a verdict based on the individuals and circumstances of the case.

What were the different types of courts in Anglo-Saxon England?

• Royal courts for the most serious crimes.

• Shire courts for lesser crimes.

• Hundred courts for petty crimes.

What was compurgation or wager of law in Anglo-Saxon England?

• The accused swore their innocence using an oath and was supported by oath-helpers (compurgators) — people who vouched for their honesty.

• The more serious the crime, the more oath-helpers were required.

• It relied on social standing and trust rather than evidence.

If a crime was more serious, were more or less oath helpers required in court?

More.

Give an example of how reputation and social standing was important in Anglo-Saxon legal proceedings?

Oath helpers or compurgators were used instead of evidence to prove someone’s innocence.

If the jury couldn’t reach a decision at the trial by jury, what would happen?

It moved to trial by ordeal.

What was a trial by local jury based on in Anglo-Saxon England?

Local knowledge and sworn testimony.

What were the key factors of punishment in Anglo-Saxon England?

Retribution, deterrence and compensation.

What was the most common form of punishment in Anglo-Saxon England?

Fines.

What did the amount of fines depend on in Anglo-Saxon England?

Status of those involved and severity of the crime.

What was wergild?

Compensation paid to the family of a murder victim. The amount depended on the victim’s rank.

What did Wergild aim to prevent?

Blood feuds.

What was introduced to prevent blood feuds?

Wergild.

What was the punishment for murder in Anglo-Saxon England?

Paying wergild.

Give examples of corporal punishment in Anglo-Saxon England?

Whipping, mutilation (e.g. hand removal), branding or branding.

What type of punishment was branding?

Corporal.

What was corporal punishment often used for in Anglo-Saxon England?

Serious crimes or repeat offenders.

How would coin forging often be punished in Anglo-Saxon England?

Maiming - hand removed.

Give examples of capital punishment in Anglo-Saxon England?

Hanging or beheading.

Was capital or corporal punishment often used as a form of retribution in Anglo-Saxon England?

Capital.

How would arson often be punished in Anglo-Saxon England?

Hanging.

How would crimes against the authority often be punished in Anglo-Saxon England?

Capital punishment like hanging.

Which crime was likely to result in capital punishment?

Treason.

How would treason be punished in Anglo-Saxon England?

Execution.

Give an example of a humiliation punishment in Anglo-Saxon England?

Stocks and pillories.

How would public disorder or assault be punished in Anglo-Saxon England?

Stocks/pillories.

When did Norman England begin?

1066.

How did the Normans change crime and authority in England?

Under Anglo-Saxon rule, local communities played an important role in maintaining law and order however the Normans created a centralised system where the king had ultimate authority.

Why did the Normans change law enforcement in England?

The Normans needed to establish control and consolidate William’s leadership on a resistant Anglo-Saxon population.

Did the king have centralised or decentralised power in Norman England?

Centralised.

Did the king have more influence over the law in Anglo-Saxon or Norman Engalnd?

Norman.

How did the legal system change after the Norman Conquest?

Centralisation on authority.

How did William I change the legal power in England?

• William centralised the legal system. Under Anglo-Saxon authority, local lords had power and authority over their own lands but William shifted this power to the crown, ensuring that the king had the final say in legal matters to help standardise laws across the kingdom.

• The feudal system required all nobles to swear an oath of allegiance directly to him, ensuring loyalty and obedience whilst centralising the power under the king. The kings was at the very top, giving him ultimate power.

• Motte and bailey castles secured his control and defended against rebellion. Normans also lived here to protect them and impose law and order, acting as a permanent reminder of the new power.

• All money was paid directly to the king unlike Wergild.

What was the king’s mund?

A concept where any crime against an individual was a direct challenge to the king’s authority, not just against an individual.

Which hierarchy did William the Conqueror introduce?

Feudal system.

What system did the Normans implement to establish strict hierarchical structure of land ownership?

Fuedal system.

Which new laws did the Normans introduce?

Murdrum fine, forest laws and curfew law.

What was the murdrum fine?

If a Norman was murdered and the killer was not found, the community within the hundred where the body was found paid a heavy penalty prioritising Norman safety.

Why was the murdrum fine introduced?

After the Norman conquest, there was a fear that Anglo-Saxons would murder Normans so it protected Norman’s from revenge or attack from Anglo-Saxons.

Who did the murdrum fine aim to protect?

Normans.

What was included in the curfew law?

Bells signalled bedtime; all fires and candles had to be extinguished, preventing secret meetings and potential plots against the Normans.

What did the curfew law aim to prevent?

Secret meetings at night that would plot against the Normans.

What was included in the forest law?

Around 30% of England became royal forest and hunting reserves which William, Normans and those who purchased hunting rights could use, This banned locals from hunting, foraging or collecting wood.

Roughly how much of England became royal forest under William’s forest laws?

30%.

What was the crime of breaking the forest laws called?

Poaching.

Which crime was made much worse by William I’s forest laws?

Poaching.

What did poaching make it a crime to do?

Collect firewood, hunt, forage or graze animals on royal land.

What type of crime was poaching?

Social crime.

Why was poaching a social crime?

Most people disapproved and would commit the crime anyway because they thought it was unfair.

What was considered a social crime under the Norman’s?

Poaching.

Did poaching have severe or light punishments?

Severe.

How would poaching be punished?

Maiming, castrating, hanging or blinding.

Who aimed to catch poachers and enforce the forest laws?

Foresters.

Who were foresters?

People who enforced the forest laws and caught poachers.

Were foresters quite popular or unpopular?

Unpopular.

Were did William I mainly face uprising from?

The North.

How did William I suppress rebellions, known as the Harrying of the north?

• Death of rebels and those not directly involved.

• Caused widespread starvation and famine by ploughing salt into the ground and killing animals.

• Castles built and men roamed the countryside, unafraid of executing people.