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• Around the year 1000, law enforcement and punishment in Anglo-Saxon England were mainly the responsibility of the local community and the Church.
• People lived in villages and knew their neighbours well.
• People had a sense of responsibility to one another to maintain law and order.

Tithings and the hue and cry

There was no police force in Anglo-Saxon England. The role of the tithing was to prevent crime. A tithing system was used and every male villager over the age of 12 would join the tithing. Each English shire was divided into hundreds and each hundred had ten tithings.

One member from each tithing within the hundred met with the shire reeve (later called the king’s sheriff) to prevent crime, particularly cattle theft. If one person from the group broke a law, the other members would be responsible for taking them to court or paying a fine.

When a crime was committed, the victim would raise the hue and cry, which means they shouted for help. The other villagers were expected to stop working when they heard this. They would help the victim and try to catch the criminal. If a villager did not join the hue and cry, they were expected to pay a fine.

There were two types of trial used in Anglo-Saxon England:

• Trial by local jury - The jury was made up of men from the village tithing who knew the accuser and the accused. The jury would listen to accounts from both, and possibly witnesses, before deciding who was telling the truth. Because the jury would know both the accuser and the accused, they could also use their knowledge of both people’s characters to make their decision.
• Trial by ordeal - If a local jury could not decide the outcome of a crime, then the villagers would turn to God to decide. This was known as judicium dei (by the judgement of God) or trial by ordeal. Trial by ordeal often took place in a church. The accused would fast for three days and then hear Mass before their trial. A priest would always be present.

Methods of trial by ordeal included:

• Trial by hot iron - The accused would hold a burning hot weight in their hand and then their hand would be bandaged. If after three days the wound had healed, it was believed that God had judged the person to be innocent.
• Trial by hot water - The accused would put their hand into boiling hot water to pick up an object. Their hand would then be bandaged. If after three days the wound had healed, it was believed that God had judged the person to be innocent .
• Trial by blessed bread - The accused would eat bread. If they ate the bread without choking, it was believed that God had judged the person to be innocent .
• Trial by cold water - The accused was tied to a rope and lowered into water. If the accused floated, it was believed that the water had rejected them and that God had therefore judged the person to be guilty.

Punishment in Anglo-Saxon England

• Anglo-Saxon England didn’t have prisons as we know them now. Prisons that did exist were holding areas that were built to stop serious criminals from escaping before their trial. These prisons were managed by a gaoler, whom the accused person paid for themselves.
• Capital punishment, in particular death by hanging, was used as a punishment for treason. This lethal punishment was intended to deter other people from committing this crime.
• Corporal punishment included mutilation, such as cutting off someone’s hand. This was used for repeat offenders. Those who continued to carry out petty theft would have their hand cut off. This was intended to deter them from committing the crime again.
• The pillory and stocks were also used as punishments. These punishments were intended to humiliate the convicted criminal.

Wergild

The Anglo-Saxons used a system of fines called the wergild, which was a type of compensation that was paid to the victims of crime or their families based on social status.

Previously, the victim or victim’s family had had the right to kill the person accused of a serious crime. This was known as ‘blood feud’ and led to long-running feuds and violence.

The introduction of wergild (for death) and botgild (for injuries) meant money was paid instead of blood. The king decided how much each fine was, and this was set out in the king’s laws. It was an unequal system as, for example, the fine for killing a prince was 1,500 shillings while the fine for killing a peasant was 40 shillings

Another example of unfairness is that the fine for killing a Welsh person was even lower. This was because Anglo-Saxon England was often at war with Wales.