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Anglo Saxon England

Crime in Anglo Saxon England 

  1. As towns, such as Eoforwic (York) and Lundenwic (London), grew in importance, there was more opportunity for both crime against the person and crime against property.  

  1. In towns, people did not know each other well, so it was easier to get away with crimes.  

  1. The concentration of goods and money meant there was more of value to steal.  

  1. The development of a social structure of king, nobles, freemen and serfs meant that actions that threatened this system were considered crimes against authority: for example, a serf starting a fight with a noble.  

  1. The worse crime against authority was treason: betraying the king.  

  1. Actions that were against religious beliefs (for example, having sex outside marriage) were considered moral crimes.  

 

Law enforcement in Anglo Saxon England 

  1. The powerful king and nobility made the laws, but village communities and family ties helped to enforce them at a local level.  

  1. King Ethelred II ruled England from 978-1016. By making alliances with Normandy and defending England from Viking attacks, Ethelred gained more control over the kingdom.  

  1. Anglo Saxons believed in the ‘king’s peace’: the duty of the King to maintain law and order so people could go about their everyday lives.  

  1. Anglo Saxon kings formally issued codes of laws which laid out the law.  

  1. Local communities were expected to take collective responsibility for maintain law and order.  

  1. Each area had a local official called a reeve to carry out decisions made by local courts.  

  1. England was divided into hundreds, and each hundred was divided into ten tithings. One mine from each hundred, and one man from each tithing, had to meet regularly with the king’s shire reeve. 

  1. Anyone who witnessed a crime in the community could raise a ‘hue and cry’, and everyone who heard it was expected to help chase the suspects.  

  1. Sometimes people were given the option of swearing an oath to prove their innocence.  

  1. Alternatively, they might be subject to trial by ordeal. These included hot iron (an accused’s hand was burned, and if it healed, this was a sign God had judged the to be innocent), or cold water (they were thrown into water with their hands tied; if they floated they were judged guilty, if they sank, they were innocent).  

 

Punishment in Anglo Saxon England 

  1. For some crimes, the Church advised maiming: causing physical harm like having an ear cut off.  

  1. Murder was sometimes punished by fine’s paid to the victim’s family, a system known as wergild. The higher your social status, the higher the fine.  

  1. Treason and arson were punished by execution – usually hanging.  

  1. Public punishments like the stocks or pillory, which were usually placed outdoors in a public place, might be given for physical assaults or public disorder.  

  1. Theft could be punished with fines.  

  1. Over time, punishments were increasingly decided by the King, rather than local communities.  

  1. The use of punishment in this period increased, which was intended to boost the visible power of the King across the land.