Changing punishment - Norman and later medieval England
After he became king in 1066, William I changed some punishments in Norman England. However, most Anglo-Saxon punishments continued. Later medieval kings took a greater interest in punishments. The emphasis on punishment as A punishment inflicted on someone for a crime or wrong doing, revenge, or 鈥榩aying the criminal back' for their crimes. and The action of discouraging someone from doing something or preventing something from happening - often by creating a fear of the consequences. continued.
Punishment in Norman England
William I kept some punishments that had been used in Anglo-Saxon England:
- He increased the use of Punishment resulting in death. such as death by hanging, for serious crimes and people who reoffended.
- A punishment involving physical harm, such as flogging. continued to be used. For example, those who broke the newly introduced forest laws by hunting deer were punished by having their first two fingers cut off.
- Fines were used for less serious crimes.
However, William I also made changes to some of the punishments used in Anglo-Saxon England:
- The murdrum fine was introduced. This large fine had to be paid by all those who lived in the region in which a Norman had been killed - if the murderer was not found and turned in to the authorities. Corpses were presumed to be Norman unless it could be proven that they were English.
- A system of fines used in Anglo-Saxon England that was paid as compensation to the victims of crime or their families. ended. All fines were paid to William I and his officials, rather than the victim or their family.
Punishment in medieval England
Most punishments used in Anglo-Saxon and Norman England continued throughout medieval England. In the 12th century, Henry II also introduced prisons when he reformed the court system under the Assize of Clarendon. Prisons mainly consisted of holding cells for those accused of serious crimes.
Other punishments included:
- the A wooden frame with holes to hold the feet of someone convicted of a crime. and A wooden frame with holes to hold the head and hands of someone convicted of a crime.
- physical punishments
- beatings
- maiming
- death by hanging
- death by beheading
- fines
- prisons
People convicted of serious crimes and sentenced to death could avoid this punishment by buying an official The action of forgiving an individual for an error or offence. from the king, fighting in his army during war or joining the A series of wars in the 11th to 13th centuries fought by European Christians against Muslims in the Holy Land. They believed that it was possible for them to 'reclaim' the Holy Land. Muslims who lived in the Holy Land regarded the arrival of these Christian soldiers as an invasion.
In the later medieval period, the crime of high treason was introduced for plotting to kill the king. A convicted person would be sentenced to being hanged, drawn and quartered.
More guides on this topic
- Crime and punishment in Britain overview - Edexcel
- Crime and punishment in early modern England, c.1500-c.1700 - Edexcel
- Crime and punishment in 18th- and 19th-century Britain - Edexcel
- Crime and punishment in modern Britain, c.1900 - Edexcel
- Crime and punishment in Whitechapel, c.1870-c.1900 - Edexcel