Punishments in Medieval England (Edexcel GCSE History)

Punishments in Medieval England - Timeline

Punishments in Medieval England - Summary

Throughout the medieval era, the aims of punishment were broadly the same. The main aims were protection, retribution and deterrence. Punishments were typically monetary (fines), corporal or capital. Other punishments, like the stocks and pillory, humiliated criminals in public.

After the Normans came to power in 1066, they made some dramatic changes. They adapted the Saxon wergild. Fines were now paid directly to the king. The use of corporal and capital punishment also rose dramatically. The Normans frequently carried out such harsh punishments in public. They wanted to make sure the newly conquered population behaved.

Later medieval reforms in the court system also led to some significant changes. Prisons were introduced, and fines became more common. High treason became a more clearly defined capital offence. However, kings also gave people ways to escape the death sentence. On the whole, capital punishment gradually decreased.

Social status also affected medieval punishment. A person’s class determined their wergild in the Anglo-Saxon era. Later in the medieval era, it also determined what kind of capital punishment they would receive. The Normans factored in gender, treating women much more harshly than men. People’s religious authority also counted. By the Norman era, the clergy had their own, separate church courts. These courts tended to give much more lenient punishments.

What do Retribution and Deterrence Mean?

• Alongside protecting people, there were two main aims of medieval punishment:

  • Retribution

  • Deterrence

Retribution

• Designed to exact vengeance on a criminal

• Based on the idea that criminals should suffer in proportion to the harm they have caused

• The Anglo-Saxon blood feud system is a good example of retribution in action

Deterrence

• Designed to prevent crime

• Based on the idea that fear would put people off committing crimes

• Such punishments often took place in public 

• This ensured that people could see the negative consequences of committing crimes

Corporal and Capital Punishment in Medieval England

• There were several forms of punishment in medieval England

• Two of the most severe forms were:

  • Corporal punishment

  • Capital punishment

Corporal Punishment 

• Used to inflict physical pain

• Punishment for crimes like petty theft and public disorder

• Flogging is an example

Capital Punishment

• Used to kill

• Punishment for the most serious crimes, such as murder and treason

• Removed the most dangerous criminals from society

• There were two main methods in the medieval era:

  • Beheading 

  • Hanging

Change and Continuity in Medieval Punishment

Anglo-Saxon Punishments 

• Early Anglo-Saxons used the retributive blood feud system, which often led to

  • Even more violence

  • Long-running disputes between families

• The Saxon Wergild became an alternative to this

  • It was more about compensation than retribution

  • It made further violence much less likely

  • Fines and compensation became the most common punishments in the Anglo-Saxon era

    • Criminals had to pay a fine to their victims or their victims’ families

    • Used for many crimes, including murder

    • Also used in cases of physical injury

Wergild Fines for Different Types of Injury

• Corporal punishment was fairly common

  • Frequently the punishment for reoffenders

    • Mutilation was used on those who continued to commit petty theft

    • Offenders had their hand cut off

• Capital punishment was rarely used

  • Reserved for the most serious crimes, like arson or treason

• The stocks and pillory were other forms of punishment

  • Used to humiliate criminals in public

  • Often punished crimes like public disorder

Norman Punishments

• Many Anglo-Saxons were hostile to the Norman takeover of 1066

• The Normans faced a lot of resistance from the population

• They needed to

  • Strengthen their royal authority

  • Assert control over the people of England

• They did this by making some important changes to punishments

• They adapted the Saxon Wergild

  • Criminals now paid fines to the king, not to victims and their families

  • Minor crimes like petty theft tended to be punished with fines

• They introduced the murdrum fine

• They also dealt out harsh punishments in public as a form of deterrence

  • Corporal punishment dramatically increased

    • Whipping was often used for minor crimes, like insulting a neighbour

    • Those who broke the Forest Laws were often punished with mutilation, having their first two fingers cut off

  • Capital punishment also dramatically increased

    • Continued to be used for the most serious crimes

    • Started to be used more on reoffenders 

• The stocks and pillory continued to be used for very minor crimes

Later Medieval Punishments

• Most Anglo-Saxon and Norman punishment methods continued into the later medieval era

• Reforms in the court system also led to some significant changes 

• King Henry II introduced prisons

  • These were mostly holding cells for those accused of serious crimes

• Fines became more common

• Corporal punishment was still widely used

  • As before, it mostly punished reoffenders

• Capital punishment was also still used

  • The capital offence of high treason was defined more clearly in law

  • Those convicted would be punished by being hung, drawn and quartered

• In some cases, those convicted of serious crimes could avoid the death sentence by

  • Buying an official pardon from the king

  • Fighting in the king’s army during war

  • Joining the Crusades

• This meant that, as the later medieval period progressed, capital punishment gradually decreased

Did Social Status Affect Medieval Punishment?

• Medieval punishments varied depending on a person’s social status

• The following factors were considered:

  • Class 

  • Gender

  • Religious authority

Class

• Determined the different fines set out in the Saxon Wergild

• This made the Saxon Wergild unequal 

Wergild Fines for Different Classes

• Wergild fines for killing Welsh people were remarkably low

• This is because Anglo-Saxon England was often at war with Wales

• Class was also important in the later medieval era

• It determined what method of capital punishment someone received

Gender

• Norman laws treated women much more harshly than men 

• This was different to the Anglo-Saxon era when men and women were largely treated equally

Religious Authority

• Clergy were treated differently from lay people

• From the Norman era onwards, they were tried in more lenient church courts