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Crime and Punishment final coggle - Coggle Diagram
Crime and Punishment final coggle
c1000 - c1500 (Medieval England)
Crimes in Medieval England
Crimes against the person:
murder
assault
public disorder
rape
Crimes against property:
Arson
Theft, such as stealing crops or poaching
Counterfeiting coins
Crimes against authority:
Treason
Rebellion
(All seen as extremely serious)
Poaching
Hunting wild animals on land that does not belong to you, without paying "hunting rights" is known as poaching.
A form of theft that increased dramatically after the Forest Laws, as peasants used what had previously been common land to catch animals for food.
It is seen as a "social crime" because whilst illegal it was acceptable to many people - catching animals for food on common land was allowed and helped people survive.
Reducing the amount of common land meant many had to choose between going hungry and breaking the law.
New Crimes in Norman England
William I's Forest Laws:
About 30% of England became "Royal Forest" which William I and Norman Nobility used for hunting
Village communities and farms were evicted from this land, which caused resentment.
The Royal Forests were protected by the Forest Laws
Only those people who paid for hunting rights were allowed to hunt in the Royal Forests
In the Royal Forests it became illegal to graze animals, kill wild animals or take wood without licence
The Forest Laws were seen as unfair by ordinary people so those who broke Forest Law were not seen criminals by most people in society
Rebellions:
The Norman Invasion was not welcomed by the Anglo Saxons and there was much resistance in the first few years, including large rebellions in York and East Anglia.
Betraying your lord and inciting rebellion against a King had been a crime in Anglo-Saxon times, but William I punished these crimes far more harshly to try to assert his authority.
As would have been done in Anglo-Saxon times, William ordered the death penalty for the rebel themselves.
What was different was that William also punished those who were not directly involved in the rebellions - estimates suggest that 100 000 people starved to death due to destruction of farmland and animals on William's orders in the areas that had seen rebellions
Murdrum fine:
This new law was used to help establish control over the conquered population .
If an Anglo Saxon murdered a Norman, and the culprit was not caught, a large sum of money had to be paid by the hundred (an area of land) where the body was found.
In this way, murdering a Norman became a more serious crime than murdering an Anglo-Saxon, which is another example of how the ruling classes can make laws to benefit themselves
Anglo-Saxon Law Enforcement
Tithings:
Shires were split into areas called hundreds and each hundred was divided into ten tithings.
All men in a tithing were responsible for each other.
If one was accused of a crime, the others made sure he went to court or they would have to pay a fine for him.
A shire reeve (later the sheriff) was a local man appointed by the community to take criminals to courts and make sure any punishment was carried out.
He also met regularly with one man from each tithing.
Hue and Cry:
The victim or witness of a crime raise a hue and cry by shouting to alert others.
Anyone who heard the hue and cry was expected to chase and help catch the suspected criminal
Courts:
If the suspect did not admit to the crime, or was not caught in the act, their guilt or innocence had to be decided by a court
There are different courts depending on the type of crime committed and the person who committed it - royal courts were national courts that dealt with the most serious of crimes; lesser crimes were dealt with shire courts, and petty crimes were dealt with in hundred courts.
Court hearings, in which the punishment that convicted criminals would received was decided, took place in public
Oaths:
Swearing oaths "before God" was a major part of Anglo-Saxon justice.
The accused could swear their innocence under oath and others could support them as "oath helper"
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Norman and later law enforcement
Norman Law Enforcement:
Continuity:
- the anglo-saxon system of tithings, the hue and cry and the court system continued. Law enforcement in most cases remained the responsibility of the community
Change:
- the Normans introduced (showing the more military nature of Norman society) as another way of settling disputes. The two people involved would fight until was killed or surrendered (and he would then be put to death anyway). Another change was the use of "foresters" to police the Royal Forest and enforce Forest laws. They dealt with suspects very harshly and were often feared and hated by local communities
Parish Constables:
These were local people nominated by the community
It was an unpaid position. Constables did their usual jobs as well.
They held the post for a year
Role of Local communities:
Continuity:
The hue and cry system continued as did tithings
Continuity:
if juries were unable to reach a verdict, trial by ordeal and by combat continued to be used by communities as informal methods of law enforcement.
Change:
from the 1250s, parish constables led the chase for the criminal after the hue and cry was given and tried to keep peace. They arrested suspects.
Change:
some towns also had a night watch, in which volunteers patrolled the streets. Any suspected criminals they caught were handed over to the constable.
Change:
trial by ordeal and by combat were abolished in 1215.
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Medieval Punishment
Types of punishment:
Fines
Stocks (humiliation)
Maiming (corporal)
Flogging (corporal)
Hanging (capital)
Beheading (capital)
Changes in the types of medieval punishments:
Anglo-saxon:
- fines and compensations were most common. The system of paying compensation to victims of crime was used for many crimes, including murder. This was called the Saxon Wergild. Corporal punishments were also fairly common but capital punishment was rarely used.
Norman:
use of capital and corporal punishments rose dramatically (more offences became capital crimes). Breaking Forest Laws was punished very harshly, including castration, blinding and hanging. The Wergild system was ended and fines were paid to the king. Very minor crimes were still punished by fines, whipping or time in the stocks.
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Social Status and punishment
Medieval punishments varied depending on class and gender - commoners were treated differently to nobles, women differently to men and priests differently to normal people.
Good examples of this include the following:
The amount of Wergild payable in Anglo-Saxon times depended on the victim's social status. Wergild for nobles was a huge sum whereas wergild for a serf was very little.
During the later medieval period, commoners were usually hanged for murder while nobles were usually beheaded.
Influence of the Church
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c1500 - c1700 (Early Modern England)
Crime in early modern England:
Changes in society and what crimes they lead to:
Increase in population and decline of feudalism led to higher unemployment which meant more people moved to urban areas in search of work, so town and cities grew -> led to an increase in crimes against the person with the increase of street criminals and petty thieves.
The end of feudalism and new farming methods led to enclosure of land (fencing it off for exclusive use of the landowner) -> led to an increase in crimes against property for example poaching, as more landowners restricted those who could not hunt on their lands.
Changes in people's religious beliefs and the religion of the monarch -> led to an increase in crimes against authority, as more people committed heresy and high treason
Increase in crimes against authority:
Early modern England was ruled by the Tudors and then the Stuarts.
It was a time for religious change and many rebellions and plots against the monarch, both of which led to an increase in crimes against authority - heresy and treason.
Treason charges were more common in this period because there were more disputes over who should rule.
Heresy charges were more common because the official religion of the country kept changing from Catholic to Protestant to Catholic, then back to Protestant!
Important members of the clergy (both Catholic and Protestant at different times) played a role in charging people with heresy and also in judging whether they were guilty or not.
As monarchs (except for Mary I) became the head of the Church, heresy and treason became interlinked.
New crimes in early modern England
Vagabondage or vagrancy:
A vagabond or a vagrant is an unemployed, homeless person.
The late 15th and 16th century centuries saw a large increase in the number of vagrants due to the increasing population, falling wages, rising food prices and no system to help the needy (especially after the closure of monasteries in 1536)
They were hated and feared by the population.
They resorted to begging and / or begging and charity in order to survive, which was resented by the settled population.
They were viewed as lazy and responsible for their own problems
Smuggling:
When import tax on certain goods, including brandy and tea, was introduced in the 17th century, the crime of smuggling increased dramatically.
Smuggling is where people bring goods into the country secretly to avoid paying import tax and then sell it on.
Like poaching, it is an example of a social crime and many people did not view it as serious or a threat, making it very difficult to enforce.
Witchcraft:
Witchcraft had been a minor crime in medieval times that was dealt with by Church courts.
During the early modern period, new laws against against witchcraft were passed, making it a very serious offence because people saw it as harmful and most were very afraid of it.
In 1542, Henry VIII made witchcraft punishable by death.
In 1563, Elizabeth I changed the law so charges of witchcraft had to be tried in a common court.
In 1604, James I instructed the death penalty to be given to people "summoning evil spirits"
Law enforcement in early modern England
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