MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

TIME FRAME

c1000-c1500

who governed the country

people with wealth and power

what were serious crimes

crimes that threatened their power and authority, the more serious the crime, the harsher the punishment

against property

against authority

against a person

theft like poaching or stealing crops, counterfeiting coins, arson

treason, rebellion like an illegal protest

murder, rape, assault, public disorder

which was the most common crime

crimes against property usually in the form of petty thefts

define poaching

hunting wild animals on other people’s lands without paying hunting rights is a form of theft

when did it increase

after the forest laws as peasants used what had previously been common land to catch animals for food

what type of crime was it considered to be and why

people used to catch animals for food in common lands to help them survive so it was seen as a social crime because it was allowed and helped people survive and it was acceptable to many people

what did the reduction lead to

reducing the amount of common land meant many people had to choose between goung hungry and breaking the law

3 facts about kings

1) many believed he was chosen by god

2)most important person in the country as he controlled the land and decided how to share it out

3)main tasks facing them was defending the country from attack and ensuring their subjects were protected by the law

3 facts about nobles

1)they were the king’s main supporters and advisers

2)in return for the land they provided the king with knights and millitary service in times of war

3) they were expected to keep law and order in their own lands

beliefs in the after life

1) people in the middle ages saw life as preparation for the eternal after life after death believing firmly in heaven and hell

what does that suggest about the church 2 facts

therefore, the church was an important organisation because it offered wasy to help a person’s soul get to heaven

there was a priest in every village and everyone was expected to attend church and live by its rules

what did the church offer

it offered sanctuary to criminals who took refuge in a church building and ran its own church courts for churchmen

what did that lead to

this sometimes brought the church into conflict with kings who wanted to enforce royal justice on everyone without interference

4 facts about peasants

the majority of people, they were farmers who worked the land and lived in villages

for part of the week they worked on the land of the local lord and in the remaining time they worked on their own land to feed their families

people lived in tight-knit communities and knew their nrighbours well

there was no police force so they were expected to look out for one another and ensure the village was a lawful place

What were most of the laws in A-S times

they were still based on local customs and weren’t written down

What happened to laws by 1000

the kings were issuing codes of laws that made some actions crimes, laws started becoming more unified across the country

what did this illustrate

the growing power if the monarch

after 1066

it was important for the king to make new laws his authority increased for example WILLIAM I added new laws that created new crimes

in later medieval period

the monarch continued to play a vital role in defining what a crime is

1154 after king henry II became king

standard laws were starting to be written down so there was for the first time a uniform legal system across the whole country

What did the Church have relating to laws during the medieval period (4)

it had a huge authority in defining criminal activity across this period

creating laws that criminalised some actions

influenced types of punishments given in response

played a direct role in deciding guilt or innocence

What happened after 1066?

after the Norman conquest of 1066, William I who led the conquest won the battle of Hastings and added new laws to the existing A-S laws that created new crimes but decided to keep the majority of the A-S laws

One reason why he did this

it was a way to establish his royal authority over his new kingdom

Reason 2

since the people of England have lived under the A-S control for many years he wanted to show them that he was the rightful heir to Edward the confessor who was king of England 1042-66 and was believed to have taken the throne illegally

Reason 3

It was to find a way to keep the whole country under control as he had 7K normans in a country of nearly 2 million English

Define the murdrum fine

If an A-S murdered a norman and the culprit wasn’t found then the people of the hundred where the body was found had to join together and pay an expensive large sum of money called the MF

Why was this law put in place

to help establish control over the conquered population and because there was much anger and some Saxons fought back killing Norman soldiers

What is this an example of?

How ruling classes made laws to benefit themselves

How did the law for rebellions change

whilst a death penalty would have been ordered for rebels themselves in A-S times, William in addition to that punished people who were not directly involved with the rebellions for example he ordered the destruction of farmland and animals in areas that had seen rebellion resulting in approx 100K people starving to death

Why was this put in place?

Norman invasion wasn’t welcomes by the A-S so there was a lot of resistance for the first few years a part of this resistance included large rebellions in York and East Anglia

How was this not a new law and what was the purpose of it

the crime of inciting rebellions against a king were already existing in A-S times but William punished this crime more harshly than previously to assert his authority

overview of law enforcement in medieval times

all throughout the medieval times, there was no offocial police force

A-S law enforcement

the community was largely responsible for preventing crime + catching criminals as people lived in tight-knit communities so everyone knew everyone else well and knew their neighbours well

people had a strong sense of duty towards their community which was a reason why the crime rate was quite low

4 facts about tithings

1) y the the 10th century, A-S kings set up a self-help system known as the tithing system

2)every male over the age of 12 was expected to join a tithing

3) a group of 10 men where all the people of one tithing were responsible for each other’s behaviours where if one of them was accused of a crime or broke the law, the other members of the tithing made sure they went to court otherwise they had to pay a fine for him

4)formed as shires were split into hundreds where each hundred was split into 10 tithings

3 facts about the hue an cry

1) when a victim or a witness of a crime shouted to alert others when a crime happened this would be said they raised a ‘hue and cry’

2) anyone who heard the hue and cry chased and helped to catch the suspected criminal, the entire village was expected to down tools and join the hunt to catch the criminals

3) if a person didn’t join the hue and cry then the whole village would have to pay a heavy fine

2 thing about courts

1) in case the accused wasn’t caught in action or didn’t admit to their crime, they would be taken to court where their guilt or innocence was decided

2) the type of court depended on the person suspected of committing the crime and the crime committed

types of courts

more serious crimes were taken to royal courts which were national courts

lesser crimes were dealt with at shire courts

petty crimes were dealt with in hundred courts

what is acourt hearing

when the punishment that the convicted criminals would recieve was announced but it took place in public

First type of trials used to decide on guilt or innocence 2 facts

Trial by jury which relied on the local community, the jury was made up on men from the village who knew both the accuser and the accused

The accuser and the accused told their version of events, the victim and their family provided evidence of the suspect’s guilt and it was up to the jury to decide who was telling the truth

What about if the jury couldn’t decide ?

if the jury couldn’t decide who was telling the truth or there wasn’t enough evidence or clear evidence like an eyewitness to the crime, the jury would decide guilt or innocence based on their knowledge of the people concerned

What happens if the jury decides?

For example if the jury felt that the accuser was more honest than the accused they would swear an oath that the accused was guilty, this oath taking was called a compurgation

What else could happen if the jury couldn’t decide on guilt or innocence

since the saxons were a very religious society, if a local jury couldn’t decide guilt or innocence and who was telling the truth, the Saxons turned to trial by ordeal by handing over the accused to the church for a trial by ordeal where they believed God would help them as he would decide a person’s innocence or guilt through this trial

3 facts about the trial by ordeal which is the second time of trial the A-S had

they all took place inside a church

the accused had to fast for 3 days and hear Mass as a preparation

A priest would always be present as it was believed that God would judge Guilt or innocence

Name 2 possible ways a trial by ordeal was carried out

1) trial by hot iron: taken by women, the accused would pick up a red-hot weight and walk 3 paces with it

2) trial by hot water: taken by men, the accused put his hand into boiling water to grab an object

for both of these, their hand would be bandaged and unwrapped 3 days later, if the wound was healing the accused was innocent, festering the accused was guilty

name the other 2 possible ways a trial by ordeal was carried out

1) trial by consecrated bread: taken by priests, a priest prayed that the accused would choke on bread if they lied, the accused ate bread and was found guilty if he choked

2) trial by cold water: taken by men, the accused was tied with a knot above the waist and lowered into the water at the end of the rope, if he sank below God’s pure water then he was judged innocent, if he floated he had been rejected by the pure water and was found guilty

overview of the norman law enforcement

the systems of law enforcement of the A-S was kept by the Normans so in most cases Law enforcement remained the responsibillity of the local community as they were already effective at policing themselves, the normans kept the tithings and the hue and cry

Change 1

introduction of trial by combat where the two people involved for example the accuser and the accused would fight until one was killed, surrendered or unable to fight on, this person would be hanged as God had judged him to be guilty

what did this show

the military nature of the norman society

change 2

normans introduced foresters who policed the royal forest and enforced the forest laws, suspects were dealt with very harshly and they were feared and hated by the local communities

change 3

the normans introduced church courts which were separate courts used for churchmen and tended to be more lenient

change 4

the A-S gave women almost equal rights in law with men but the Norman laws were much harsher on women, a Norman legal text said ‘Women’s authority nil, let her in all things be subject to the rule of men’

change 5

Norman-French became the official language used in court procedures and all court record were kept in Latin, most English people understood neither

What did the Normans build

they built castles in every area in England which represented their strong royal authority and aimed to help impose law and order and help control the land

overview of law enforcement in later medieval times

crime grew as towns grew through the 13th and 14th century, communities were still involved in LE however authorities also become involved through the appointment of officials

what systems of law enforcement continued

the tithings and the hue and cry

CHANGE 1 4 facts

the parish constables were introduces who were local people appointed by the community to this unpaid position holding the post for a year

involved them leading the chase after a hue and cry was heard, arresting suspects and keeping the peace in their spare time, keeping an eye out for any crime that may take place

they were well respected in the village and people looked up to them, they took their responsibillity seriously despite being unpaid

they continued with their normal jobs

CHANGE 2

volunteers patrolled the streets at night and if they caught any suspected criminals they handed them tot he parish constables

Change it actually mentions in RG

Knights were appointed by Richard I as keepers of the peace in some unruly areas and Edward extended this system to all areas

Following JP act

The role of keeper of the peace evolved to become JP, had the power to hear minor crimes in small courts four times a year, appointed by monarch and were mostly local lords

CHANGE 3

abolished trial by ordeal and combat in 1215

CHNAGE 5

if the hue and cry had still not found the criminal then the sheriff would organise a posse to track down the criminal and capture him,

the sheriff of the county was a local man appointed by the community to take criminals to court, make sure that any punishment of criminals was carried out, he met with one member of each tithing regularly in the A-S times

CHANGE 6

coroners were introduced which were people who all unnatural deaths were reported to

CHANGE 7

the royal courts were introduced and they dealt with the most serious crimes, scribes in the royal court wrote everything down on long scrolls of parchment

what were the aims of punishment throughout the medieval times

they remained the same and they were: retribution, deterrance and to keep people safe

what did punishments vary according to?

gender and class, nobles were treated differently to commoners and men were treated differently to men

The amount of wergild to pay depended on the social class of the victim, if he was a noble the wergild to pay was a large amount whereas if he was a commoner or a servant then the wergild was little

3 facts about punishments in A-S times

Fines and compensations were the most common where the system of paying fines for victims applied for many crimes including murder and it was called the Wergild System

corporal punishments were common which included physically hurting the criminals

capital punishments were rare

Cap

Serious crimes carried the death penalty in A-S England : treason against the king or betraying your lord

What was the aim

Harsh cap punishment was intended to deter others and show people the importance of loyalty to the king who Saxons believed was chosen by god

Corporal

for regular offenders included mutilation intended to deter them from further offences

how did the wergild system change under the normans

the wergild system changed as the fines were pair to the king and his officials instead of the victim or their family

changes in punishment during the normans 1

more offences became capital crimes and capital punishments were used more often including for serious crimes and reoffenders

Wergild system for A-S (forgotten to add)

compensation paid to the victims of crime or to their families , an unequal system the wergild for killing a noble was greater than the fine for killing a peasant

punishment during the normans 2

minor rimes were punished by fines, whipping or time in the stocks

punishments during the normans 3

punishments were very harsh for breaking forest laws : castration, blinding, hanging

where were punishments carried out and why?

due to resistance at the start after the invasion, the normans thought that it they carried out punishments in public they would get people to behave

WILLIAM AND PUNISHMENTS

Tough on lawbreakers believing crimes are committed against the king’s peace rather than the individ

What did William have to do

Had only 7K Normans in a country of nearly 2M English so had to find ways of keeping the whole country under control

punishments during the later medieval times 3 facts

-use of capital punishment decreased but crimes against authority were still punished harshly

-Fines were more common

-Corporal punishments were still widely used but many juries wouldn’t convict their neighbours unless they regularly offended, people could be whipped or placed in the pillory for being drunk

overview of the influence of the church during the medieval period

it was extremely powerful and had various important roles throughout this period such as deciding what constituted a crime, how the accused was tried and what punishments were carried out

what did the powerful infleunce of the church on justice result in

had previously brought the Church into conflict with the king, e.g. in 1170 with the brutal murder of Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket who had fallen out with King Henry II over the issue of Church courts which Henry believed were allowing criminals to get off too lightly

1 role of the church courts

1) throughout the 13th century these courts tried people for moral crimes that weren’t tried in other normal courts

such as drunkenness, failure to attend church, playing football on a Sunday, not following church rites, adultery, sex outside marriage

second role of the church courts

they tried members of the clergy for all crimes so the church claimed the right to try any churchman in its own courts and this was presided over by the local bishop

What did claiming the benefit of clergy mean

people who claimed this benefit were not tried in any other courts apart from the church courts and so they claimed the right to be tried in the more lenient church courts

What was this right intended for in theory

for priests but in practice anybody who was loosely connected to the Church such as doorkeepers, gravediggers used it to escape tougher punishments

how could someone claim the benefit of clergy

by reading a passage from the bible as priests were some of the only members of society that could read

however laymen who were non-ordained mebers of the church memorised a passage to recite in court and claim the BoC, this test was used by the church to weed out the non-churchmen who were usually unable to read unlike priests but others learnt the verse by heart and it became known as the neck verse as it saved people’s necks from hangman’s noose

two reasons why people wanted the BoC

1-because the church dispensed more lenient punishments than the other courts as the main aim of punishment according to the church was to give a chance to the criminals and the accusers to repent and reform

2- unlike the ordinary courts, they never sentenced people to death no matter how serious the crime committed was

What is a sancutary?

criminals could go to a church and claim a sanctuary if they were on the run from the law and could reach a church, it was protection from getting arrested within a church but it was only offered by important churches only

What happened once a criminal claimed sacntuary

the church reported it by ringing a bell to alert people that a criminal was in sanctuary however the sheriff or anyone else couldn’t arrest them or remove them by force as they were under the churches protection

Detail 1 about sanctuaries

the criminals was offered 40 days to leave a country or agree to go to court to face trial, those who chose to leave the country had to make their way barefoot and carrying a wooden cross to the nearest port and board the first ship heading abroad

What happens if the criminal didn’t?

if it has been 40 days and the criminal hasn’t left the country then they would be an outlaw which was someone who has been cast out of society and removed from the protection of the law

Trial by ordeal?

The church was used for this trial which was used if the juries in normal courts couldn’t decide on a person’s guilt or innocence and couldn’t reach a verdict, the outcomes of these trials were regarded as god’s judgement on a person’s guilt or innocence

The abolishment of trial by ordeal

it was abolished by the pope in 1215 as he ordered the priests to stop administering these trials because they were legally unreliable as it was based on the legally unreliable idea that God would decide a case because it was possible for someone who was found innocent to be guilty so some escaped punishment and vice versa so it was possible for some innocent people to be found guilty

Significance of BoC

Illustrates how Justice system in MED society was not equal - provided a way for people to be treated differently, notably wasn’t available to women as the BBC lurking be priests

FOREST LAWS

Trees could no longer be cut down for fuel and people in forests couldn’t own hunting dogs, bows and arrows

Royal forests

About 30% of Eng became royal forests- king and his nobility used for hunting , RF we’re protected by forest laws

Therefore

Only those who paid hunting rights were allowed to hunt in royal forests and it became illegal to graze animals, kill wild animals or take wood without license