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CRIME AND PUNISHMENT & WHITE CHAPEL > c1000-c1500 Crime and Punishment in medieval England > Flashcards

c1000-c1500 Crime and Punishment in medieval England Flashcards

(51 cards)

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1
Q

What was England’s population in the year 1000?

A

1.7 - 2 million

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2
Q

Where do majority of the population live?

A

90% live in the countryside

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3
Q

What is the housing like for 90% of the people living in the country side? And why that might affect them?

A
  • lived in small scattered hamlets and on farmsteads
  • vulnerable to effects of:
    +warfare
    +bad weather
    +poor harvests
    +diseases
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4
Q

Who is responsible for making the law at this time of England and who helped them? c1000-c1500

A

The king

with the help of his nobility

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5
Q

Beside the king who else had a strong influence on the crimes and punishment? c1000 - c1500

A

The church

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6
Q

At local level, how is law being enforced? Anglo saxon

A

By the strong village communities and family ties in English society

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7
Q

What were the 3 important trends in c&p under the saxons?

A

-Power & influence of the king over c&p grew
-Role of the church increased
-Use of punishments

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8
Q

Give me example of how power & influence of the king over c&p grew under the saxons?

A

-The king’s peace — crimes like theft punished severely as they disrupted the king’s rule

-Wergild system: Set by the king to control justice

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9
Q

Give me example of how Role of the church increased over c&p under the saxons?

A

-Trial by Ordeal
-Sanctuary

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10
Q

Give me example of how the use of punishments increased over c&p under the saxons?

A

-increase capital punishment
-Mutilation for theft
-moral crimes

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11
Q

How was law enforced in a shire?

A

A shire was like a county.

The shire reeve (later called the sheriff) was in charge of law and order.

Serious crimes were dealt with by the shire reeve and reported to the king

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12
Q

How was law enforced in a hundred?

A

A hundred was a smaller part of a shire (like a district).

Each hundred had a hundred-man who helped settle local disputes and crimes.

If someone committed a crime in the hundred, the whole community had to help catch the criminal or pay a fine.

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13
Q

What type of crime was poaching viewed as? Anglo saxon

A

Social crime:
- villagers were willing to commit it
-Poachers who were caught would often go unpunished, as villagers generally turned a blind eye

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14
Q

How did forest laws impact poaching?

A

Forest Laws made poaching a much more serious crime in Norman England than it had been in Anglo-Saxon England

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15
Q

What were the differences between the saxons laws and the norman forest laws?

A

Anglo-Saxon England, it was legal to:

-Grazing animals, cut trees, and hunt on common land.
-Norman England, these activities became illegal.
-Hunting rights could be purchased, but were too expensive for peasants.

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16
Q

How did the Forest Laws affect ordinary people in Norman England?

A

Forest Laws were unpopular due to unfairness.

Village communities and farmers faced evictions.

Land was cleared for hunting and recreation, not farming.

resentment among ordinary people

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17
Q

What were crimes against person and their punishments during anglo saxon rule?

A

Murder - wergild
Assault - Maiming
Public disorder - stocks or pillory

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18
Q

What were crimes against property and their punishments during anglo saxon rule?

A

Theft - fines / maiming
Counterfeiting coins - Hands chopped off
Arson - Hanging

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19
Q

What were crimes against authority and their punishments during anglo saxon rule?

A

Treason - HANGING!!
Betraying your lord - HANGING OH NOOOO!!!

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20
Q

How were definitions of crimes changed during Norman conquest and why?

A

Poaching - becomes illegal to hunt in newly defined forest areas BCS King - wants exclusive hunting rights

Leaving Home - become illegal for serf to leave his lord’s village BCS Change in society - intro to norman feudal system

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21
Q

What new punishments wereintroduced after the normn conquest?

Study These Flashcards
A

Murdrum fine - Fines mor murdering Norman are paid by community where body is found BCS King - Protect Normans from Saxon population

Trial by combat - Used to settle disputed over land or money BCS Change in society - Norman noble custom introduced to England

22
Q

How were the defintion of detterence changed during the norman conquest and why?

Study These Flashcards
A

Death penalty - poaching BCS King - wants his exclusive hunting rights

23
Q

What was continuity in law enforcement during the norman conquest and why?

Study These Flashcards
A

Hue & cry BCS No change in society - people still lived in close-knit villages

24
Q

Why had the most authority and how did they use that to control? c1000-c1500

Study These Flashcards
A

King - oaths to control

Power increased in 1066

25
How did the community enforce law? c1000-c1500
USE OF COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILTY: Tithings(Groups of 10 men who had to keep each other out of trouble and report crimes) H&C A/S ONLY : Met with shire reeve
26
When was trial by ordeal abolish and when was combat added? (Roles of authority in law enforcement)
ABOLISHED : 1215 COMBAT ADDED: 1066
27
What were new positions of authority Later Medieval Law Enforcement? c1000-c1500
Coroners (1194) = Officials who investigated unusual deaths. 1195 Richard I knights = to keep peace (developed in Justices of the Peace (JPs) 1361) Parish Constables (1285) = Local men chosen to catch criminals and keep order in their area — worked part-time, unpaid
28
When were Corners (Richard I) established?
1194
29
What were Coroners (Richard I)?
Coroners (1194) = Officials who investigated unusual deaths.
30
When were Richard I knights established?
1195
31
What were Richard I knights?
1195 Richard I knights = to keep peace (developed in Justices of the Peace (JPs) 1361)
32
What did Richard I knights develop into?
developed in Justices of the Peace (JPs) 1361
33
When were justices of the peace (JPs) established?
1361
34
When were Parish Constables established?
1285
35
What were Parish Constables?
Parish Constables (1285) = Local men chosen to catch criminals and keep order in their area — worked part-time, unpaid
36
What were the main type of punishments that were enforced during the c1000 - c1500?
Deterrence & retribution
37
What were the uses of fines during c1000-c1500?
Wergild - compensation 'man's price (end - 1066 Murdrum fine - heavy fine the whole village had to pay if a Norman was murdered and the killer wasn’t caught.
38
What were the uses of corporal/capital punishment during anglo-saxons ?
Corporal: maiming/flogging FOR: petty theft/public disorder Capital: Beheading/Hanging FOR: murder/treason
39
What were the uses of corporal/capital punishment during norman reign ?
Corporal: Whipping/mutilation of 2 fingers FOR: minor crime/forest laws Capital: most serious crimes/reoffenders
40
What were the uses of corporal/capital punishment during Later Medieval era ?
Corporal: mostly punished reoffenders Capitital: HDQ (1352) - high treason
41
When was HDQ introduced?
1352
42
When was HDQ abolished?
1868
43
Who were the clergy?
Members of the Church who were responsible for religious duties and services
44
What was the benefit of the clergy?
legal privilege that allowed clergy members who were accused of a crime to be tried in church courts instead of royal courts. Church courts were more lenient with punishments.
45
What were flaws of the benefits of the clergy?
-Unequal : only for men -Abuse: pretend to be clergy by reciting a passage from Psalms 51 -Extended beyond priests: doorkeepers/gravediggers could claim it
46
What was sanctuary? c1000-c1500
Sanctuary = Hiding in a church to avoid arrest. Offered 40 days of protection from the law. After 40 days, the criminal had to stand trial or leave the country (go into exile)
47
What were problems with sanctuary?
Showed the power of the Church in medieval justice. Let criminals escape harsh punishments unfair – rich or well-connected people could abuse it Created conflict between Church and king – Church protecting criminals vs king’s justice.
48
How much did the church own?
1/4 of the land 1/5 of country's wealth
49
What was Constitutions of Clarendon (1164)?
A set of laws issued by King Henry II to limit the power of the Church and bring clergy under royal control.
50
What were the key aims of Constitutions of Clarendon (1164)?
Stop clergy using church courts to avoid royal justice. Make clergy answerable to royal courts after church trials. Limit the power of the Pope and bishops.
51
When was Constitutions of Clarendon established?
1164

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT & WHITE CHAPEL (4 decks)

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