Crime and Punishment
c1000-c1500: Crime and Punishment in medieval England
Nature and changing definitions of criminal activity
Crime against the person- murder, assault, public disorder, rape
Crime against property- theft, arson, counterfeiting coins
Crime against authority- treason, rebellion
poaching- hunting wild animals on other peoples land without paying hunting rights,
seen as a social crime as it wasnt seen as a serious crime.
Changing definitions of crime under the Norman’s
Forest laws- the king, William 1’s claimed 30% of English land and made it ‘royal
forest lands’, it became a crime for anyone to use this land without a licence. There
were seen as unfair by the public as those who broke these laws weren’t seen as
criminals.
Rebellions- rebellion had always been a crime, but under William 1’s, he punished
this a lot more harshly, to deter rebels. William 1’s did not only punish those
involved in the rebellion, but also entire areas of people where the rebels were
seen or came from.
Murdrum fine- if a Norman was found dead and the culprit was not caught, a large
sum of money had to be paid by the hundred in which the body found. In this way,
murdering a Norman became a more serious crime than murdering an Anglo-Saxon,
highlighting how the ruling classes can make laws to benefit themselves.
The nature of law enforcement and punishment
Role of local communities -
Hue and cry: when a crime is committed, the victim or a witness has to raise the
hue and cry, and the entire village has to stop what they were doing and help catch
the criminal, anyone who didnt participate had to pay a fine.
Tithings- groups of 10 men over the age of 12, who were all responsible for one
another, and had to take each other in court if one of the tithing commits a crime,
or they would have to pay a fine.
Parish constable- local people nominated by the community, it was an unpaid job
and each constable held the job for a year.
introduced Justices of the Peace- JP’s had the power to hear minor crimes in small
courts 4 times a year, were appointed by the monarch and were usually local lords.
Punishment
Punishment was meant to act as deterrence and retribution
Fines- most common form of compensation, for example the Saxon wergild,
which was when there was a system of paying victims or family of victims.
Norman Wergild was when all compensation was paid to the king, and not
the victims.
Mostly minor crimes such as theft etc. was continuously punished with
fines.
, Other minor crimes were punished with the stocks and pillaries, too
humiliate the offender.
Corporal punishment- physical punishment, such as maiming, flogging,
castration
Breaking the forest laws would be punished with castration, blinding and
hanging.
Capital punishment- death, through hanging, beheading etc.
used to punish the most serious crimes such as treason, murder,
rebellion.
Acted as retribution and deterrence.
Influence of the church in the early 13th century
Sanctuary- when the most important churches offered protection from the law too
criminals, the priest had to report the crime, but no one was allowed to arrest the
accused.
The offender could either agree to go to church, or swear an oath agreeing to leave
the country, if they had not left the country within 40 days, they would be
outlawed.
Benefit of clergy- allowed members of the clergy to be trialled in a church court,
which were known for giving more lenient sentences.
People proved their right to benefit of the clergy by reading a passage from the
bible- only priests could actually read it so it was unfair.
As a result, many laymen memorised the verse to claim the benefit.
benefit of the clergy shows how medieval society was inequal.
Trial by ordeal- in cases when an offenders guilt or innocence could not be proven by
the court jury, trial by ordeal was used.
There were many types of trial by ordeal, and they were meant to represent Gods
judgement on the verdict of the crime.
In 1215, the pope ordered his priests to stop administering these trials, and they
quickly ended.
Trial by hot water or iron
Trial by water
Trial by blessed bread
Norman’s introduced trial by combat
c.1500-c.1700: C&P in early modern England
Nature and changing definitions of criminal activity
Continuity of crime- petty theft, treason, arson, murder
Changes in nature of crime- larger cities meant more crimes such as pettty theft,
poaching, treason and heresy
Treason and heresy became linked, as under Henry VIII, the church was head by the
monarch, not the Pope, which meant that any crimes against the church became a
crime against the monarch.
Lots of religious changes in the Tudor period led to a great increase in heresy,
and therefore treason.
Vagabondage- a vagabond was an unemployed homeless person, this increased in the
early modern era as there was population growth in cities, leading to more
, unemployment and unemployment.
The general public were against vagabonds, as they saw them as lazy, and the
devils workers, and responsible for their own problems
They also had a violent reputation and were hated an feared by the settled
population.
Vagabond acts:
1494- vagabonds and beggars act
vagabonds were put in stocks for three days and nights , then sent back to
where they were born or most well-known.
1547- vagrancy act
The able-bodied without work for more than three days were branded with
the letter ‘v’ and sold as a space for two years. - repealed as it was
impossible to enforce.
1597- Act for the relief of the poor-
Split vagrants into two categories: ‘deserving’( elderly and disabled) and the
‘undeserving’ (those fit for work).
1601- Poor Laws
The ‘deserving’ poor were given poor relief by the local parish; the
‘undeserving’ could be branded, whipped or sent to a correction house.
Witchcraft- in the Medieval times, witchcraft was a minor crime, dealt by church
courts. However, in the early modern period, new laws against witchcraft were passed,
making it a very serious offence as most people were afraid of it.
1542- Henry VIII made witchcraft punishable by death
1563- Elizabeth I changed the law so charges of withcraft had to be tried in a
common court.
1604- James I instructed the death penalty to be given to people ‘summoning evil
spirits’.
The nature of law enforcement and punishment
continuity in law enforcement - hue and cry, no national police force and methods of
catching and preventing crime differed across the country.
Changes in law enforcement- role of church in law enoforcement decreased
Non-clergy benefit of the clergy was introduced by Henry VIII
Henry VIII stopped exile abroad for sanctuary, James I abolished sanctuary
altogether.
Introduction of watchmen and town constables;
Watchmen- patrolled streets between 10pm and dawn, all male householders were
expected to volunteer, unpaid role/ Overseen by town constable.
Town Constables- employed by town authorities, respected members of
community, had the power to arrest suspects and were in charge of watchmen in
their area. Helped with town administration.
Continuity in punishment- fines, public humiliation, hanging, burning
Changes in punishment- bloody code, transportation
Bloody code-in the 17th century, the number of crimes punishable by death increased.
By 1688 there were 50 capital offences, ranging from minor crimes to murder.
Due to the increase in capital offences, the period 1688-1825 was known as the
‘bloody code’.
c1000-c1500: Crime and Punishment in medieval England
Nature and changing definitions of criminal activity
Crime against the person- murder, assault, public disorder, rape
Crime against property- theft, arson, counterfeiting coins
Crime against authority- treason, rebellion
poaching- hunting wild animals on other peoples land without paying hunting rights,
seen as a social crime as it wasnt seen as a serious crime.
Changing definitions of crime under the Norman’s
Forest laws- the king, William 1’s claimed 30% of English land and made it ‘royal
forest lands’, it became a crime for anyone to use this land without a licence. There
were seen as unfair by the public as those who broke these laws weren’t seen as
criminals.
Rebellions- rebellion had always been a crime, but under William 1’s, he punished
this a lot more harshly, to deter rebels. William 1’s did not only punish those
involved in the rebellion, but also entire areas of people where the rebels were
seen or came from.
Murdrum fine- if a Norman was found dead and the culprit was not caught, a large
sum of money had to be paid by the hundred in which the body found. In this way,
murdering a Norman became a more serious crime than murdering an Anglo-Saxon,
highlighting how the ruling classes can make laws to benefit themselves.
The nature of law enforcement and punishment
Role of local communities -
Hue and cry: when a crime is committed, the victim or a witness has to raise the
hue and cry, and the entire village has to stop what they were doing and help catch
the criminal, anyone who didnt participate had to pay a fine.
Tithings- groups of 10 men over the age of 12, who were all responsible for one
another, and had to take each other in court if one of the tithing commits a crime,
or they would have to pay a fine.
Parish constable- local people nominated by the community, it was an unpaid job
and each constable held the job for a year.
introduced Justices of the Peace- JP’s had the power to hear minor crimes in small
courts 4 times a year, were appointed by the monarch and were usually local lords.
Punishment
Punishment was meant to act as deterrence and retribution
Fines- most common form of compensation, for example the Saxon wergild,
which was when there was a system of paying victims or family of victims.
Norman Wergild was when all compensation was paid to the king, and not
the victims.
Mostly minor crimes such as theft etc. was continuously punished with
fines.
, Other minor crimes were punished with the stocks and pillaries, too
humiliate the offender.
Corporal punishment- physical punishment, such as maiming, flogging,
castration
Breaking the forest laws would be punished with castration, blinding and
hanging.
Capital punishment- death, through hanging, beheading etc.
used to punish the most serious crimes such as treason, murder,
rebellion.
Acted as retribution and deterrence.
Influence of the church in the early 13th century
Sanctuary- when the most important churches offered protection from the law too
criminals, the priest had to report the crime, but no one was allowed to arrest the
accused.
The offender could either agree to go to church, or swear an oath agreeing to leave
the country, if they had not left the country within 40 days, they would be
outlawed.
Benefit of clergy- allowed members of the clergy to be trialled in a church court,
which were known for giving more lenient sentences.
People proved their right to benefit of the clergy by reading a passage from the
bible- only priests could actually read it so it was unfair.
As a result, many laymen memorised the verse to claim the benefit.
benefit of the clergy shows how medieval society was inequal.
Trial by ordeal- in cases when an offenders guilt or innocence could not be proven by
the court jury, trial by ordeal was used.
There were many types of trial by ordeal, and they were meant to represent Gods
judgement on the verdict of the crime.
In 1215, the pope ordered his priests to stop administering these trials, and they
quickly ended.
Trial by hot water or iron
Trial by water
Trial by blessed bread
Norman’s introduced trial by combat
c.1500-c.1700: C&P in early modern England
Nature and changing definitions of criminal activity
Continuity of crime- petty theft, treason, arson, murder
Changes in nature of crime- larger cities meant more crimes such as pettty theft,
poaching, treason and heresy
Treason and heresy became linked, as under Henry VIII, the church was head by the
monarch, not the Pope, which meant that any crimes against the church became a
crime against the monarch.
Lots of religious changes in the Tudor period led to a great increase in heresy,
and therefore treason.
Vagabondage- a vagabond was an unemployed homeless person, this increased in the
early modern era as there was population growth in cities, leading to more
, unemployment and unemployment.
The general public were against vagabonds, as they saw them as lazy, and the
devils workers, and responsible for their own problems
They also had a violent reputation and were hated an feared by the settled
population.
Vagabond acts:
1494- vagabonds and beggars act
vagabonds were put in stocks for three days and nights , then sent back to
where they were born or most well-known.
1547- vagrancy act
The able-bodied without work for more than three days were branded with
the letter ‘v’ and sold as a space for two years. - repealed as it was
impossible to enforce.
1597- Act for the relief of the poor-
Split vagrants into two categories: ‘deserving’( elderly and disabled) and the
‘undeserving’ (those fit for work).
1601- Poor Laws
The ‘deserving’ poor were given poor relief by the local parish; the
‘undeserving’ could be branded, whipped or sent to a correction house.
Witchcraft- in the Medieval times, witchcraft was a minor crime, dealt by church
courts. However, in the early modern period, new laws against witchcraft were passed,
making it a very serious offence as most people were afraid of it.
1542- Henry VIII made witchcraft punishable by death
1563- Elizabeth I changed the law so charges of withcraft had to be tried in a
common court.
1604- James I instructed the death penalty to be given to people ‘summoning evil
spirits’.
The nature of law enforcement and punishment
continuity in law enforcement - hue and cry, no national police force and methods of
catching and preventing crime differed across the country.
Changes in law enforcement- role of church in law enoforcement decreased
Non-clergy benefit of the clergy was introduced by Henry VIII
Henry VIII stopped exile abroad for sanctuary, James I abolished sanctuary
altogether.
Introduction of watchmen and town constables;
Watchmen- patrolled streets between 10pm and dawn, all male householders were
expected to volunteer, unpaid role/ Overseen by town constable.
Town Constables- employed by town authorities, respected members of
community, had the power to arrest suspects and were in charge of watchmen in
their area. Helped with town administration.
Continuity in punishment- fines, public humiliation, hanging, burning
Changes in punishment- bloody code, transportation
Bloody code-in the 17th century, the number of crimes punishable by death increased.
By 1688 there were 50 capital offences, ranging from minor crimes to murder.
Due to the increase in capital offences, the period 1688-1825 was known as the
‘bloody code’.
