Notes on Crime and Punishment in Anglo-Saxon and Norman England
Introduction
This lecture covers the Edexcel GCSE History unit on Crime and Punishment.
Notes, questions, and flashcards are available on the website for free.
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Anglo-Saxon England
Nature and Definitions of Criminal Activity
Crimes categorized based on harm: against person, property, or authority.
Crimes Against the Person: Murder, assault, kidnapping.
Crimes Against Property: Theft, burglary, arson.
Crimes Against Authority: Treason, rebellion, disobedience.
Law Enforcement and Punishment
King and nobility shared responsibilities for law creation and enforcement.
King's Role: Issuing laws, maintaining peace, being a figure of justice.
Nobility's Role: Advising the king, enforcing laws locally.
Church's Influence: Defined moral behavior, trials by ordeal.
Local Community Systems: Tithings (groups of 10 households) and hue and cry.
Punishment
Focus on retribution, compensation, and deterrence.
Fines, Weregild: Compensation system based on social status.
Corporal Punishment: Whipping, mutilation.
Capital Punishment: Hanging or beheading for severe crimes.
Norman England
Impact of the Norman Conquest
Shift towards a centralized system under the king's authority.
Introduction of the king's mund: crimes are offenses against the king.
Feudal system established, redefining rebellion and disobedience.
New Laws and Continuity
Murder Law: Heavy fines for unlocated murderers assumed to be Norman.
Curfew Law: Required extinguishing fires at night to prevent secret gatherings.
Forest Laws: Restricted hunting rights to nobility, creating social crimes.
Law Enforcement and Punishment
Centralization: Royal officials (sheriffs) and circuit judges increased king's control.
Punishment Continuity: Fines and corporal punishment continued.
Changes: End of weregild, more severe punishments, trial by combat introduced.
Medieval England
Government Role
Increased government role in crime and punishment, more centralized control.
Reforms of Henry II: Reorganized courts, established royal courts, early prisons.
Role of Parliament: Statute of Laborers controlled wages post-Black Death.
Law Enforcement
Continuity: Community involvement with hue and cry, tithings.
Changes: Introduction of coroners and justices of the peace.
Punishment
Continuity: Fines and corporal punishment.
Changes: Introduction of hanging, drawing, and quartering for treason.
Influence of the Church
Power of the Church
Central religious authority, dictated moral standards.
Owned wealth, imposed tithes, and influenced law-making.
Sanctuary and Benefit of Clergy
Sanctuary offered protection for criminals within church walls.
Benefit of clergy allowed literate individuals to be tried in lenient church courts.
Ending of Trial by Ordeal
Pope Innocent III's decree ended clergy involvement in ordeals, promoting trial by jury instead.
Summary
The lecture detailed the evolution of crime, law enforcement, and punishment from Anglo-Saxon to Norman England, highlighting how social, political, and religious changes influenced these systems.