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Case study: the influence of the Church and crime and punishment

Why was the Church so influential in the middle ages?  

  1. The clergy were often the most educated members of a community, and the most likely to be literate.  

  1. Churches and cathedrals were the largest and most impressive buildings in most communities.  

  1. The medieval Church taught that souls could only get salvation (go to heaven) by following Church teachings.  

  1. The Church owned one fifth of the country’s wealth and collected one tenth of all earnings in Church taxes.  

 

The significance of Benefit of the Clergy 

  1. During the medieval period senior Church officials successfully argued that members of the clergy should only be tried in Church courts – this was called benefit of the clergy.  

  1. Church courts were typically more lenient, and might impose a pilgrimage or confession rather than the death penalty.  

  1. The system of benefit of the clergy was open to abuse as it was easy for anyone to claim to be a member of the clergy. The test was the accused’s ability to read Psalm 51 of the Bible, but criminals could easily memorise the psalm. It became known as the ‘neck verse’ because it could ‘save your neck’.  

  1. Henry II tried to limit the benefit of the clergy with an agreement called the Constitutions of Clarendon, although this was controversial and was one reason for his falling out with Thomas Becket.  

 

The significance of Sanctuary 

  1. Some churches also offered sanctuary. This meant that an accused person could go to a church that offered sanctuary, and ask for the help of the clergy. The accused was then given the chance to swear an oath agreeing to leave the country within 40 days instead of going to court.  

  1. Offering sanctuary only ended in 1536, in Henry VIII’s reign.  

 

The end of trial by Ordeal 

  1. In 1215, the Pope ordered that priests should stop helping to organise trials by ordeal.  

  1. In England, this led to the development of trial by jury instead. A jury was a group of twelve men who observed the trial and decided whether the accused was guilty or innocent at the end.