Crime and Punishment Flashcards
Who made the laws and how did this impact the laws? 1450
People with power and wealth, so crimes that threatened this power and wealth were seen as serious e.g treason
What examples are there of crimes and their level of punishment? 1450
Stealing small amounts of food/money/goods - fine, stocks or pillory
Blasphemy - branding
Theft of money/goods worth two days wages - hanging
Arson, rape and murder - hanging
Heresy (not following official Church beliefs) - burned at stake
Treason - hanging, drawing and quartering
What were the three different types of courts? 1450
Manor Court - in small villages and had a jury of 12 freemen to decide if someone was guilty
Royal Court - more serious crimes were sent from the manor court to the royal court for a trial by jury that could hand out the death penalty
Church Court - dealt with priests, monks and nuns accused of crimes or normal people that broke Church rules (moral crimes e.g not paying tithes or adultery)
How were medieval criminals caught? 1450
Community used tithings (groups of ten freemen) to catch criminals.
Except clergy and knights who were responsible for eachother. If one of these men was accused of a crime the rest brought that person to justice or paid a fine to the victim
If a crime was committed, bystanders are expected to shout and chase the criminal; the ‘hue and cry’
