Norman Law Enforcement and Punishment

After being crowned Christmas day 1066, William the Conqueror stressed continuity between his rule and the previous king, Edward the Confessor. He instructed the people to follow the previous laws, as well as additional laws he added.

\ Law enforcement techniques:

• Tithings and the Hue and Cry still used
• Sheriffs - employed by William to seek out and catch criminals if the hue and cry system failed, operated on a local level
• Sanctuary - an accused person could find a church and stay protected there for 40 days - at the end of this time period, they could either face trial or be exiled

\ Murdrum - a new fine system that replaced Wergild. If an Anglo Saxon killed a Norman, they would have to pay a fine which went to the King. If an attacker could not be identified, then the tithing where the body was found had to pay

%%The Forest Laws%%

• converted 30% of England’s forests into Royal Forests, protected areas of land for the King to hunt in
• created the crime of poaching, making it illegal to hunt in Royal Forests - it was also illegal to chop down trees, take firewood and even bring weapons into the forests
• This greatly angered the English people as it took away land that had previously been available to the public
• Punishments for violating the forest laws varied from fines to hanging

^^Harrying of the North^^

• 1069 - a rebellion began in the North, led by Edgar the Atheling, who had a blood claim to the throne
• William the Conqueror defeated this rebellion and ordered for villages and crops to be destroyed as punishment
• This led to the deaths of thousands of innocent people, either when villages were destroyed or from starvation afterwards. There were even rumors of cannibalism after the event

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