Has the medieval period influenced the way we treat people today? The medieval period was the time of the 5th and 15th century. It was made up of three periods, the first being the low middle ages, second the high middle ages and third being the late middle ages. This period which went for a thousand years was crucial, horrifying and a gruesome time. The crimes that occurred during the medieval period were very similar to the ones that we have today, the punishments, however, have majorly differed to the ones we have today. Some crimes of the Medieval era are Murder, theft, the Gossip of women's, high treason and heresy. The punishments, hanging or beheading, fines or hands chopped off, hanged and cut and many others. Some modern day crime …show more content…
The most serious crime that took place in the medieval era and still occurs in our world today is Murder, this is the killing of a person which can be done by swords or knives or bow and arrow, the punishment would be hanging or beheading, today murderers suffer years or life in prison. The least serious crime was Theft because it was the most common one because men or rarely women would try and steal some food for their starving family, the most common object that was stolen was bread. Women gossip was also considered a crime in that time, as well as high treason which is the act of betraying a person, country by trying to kill the person or the government. Another crime was heresy which was one's belief or opinion opposing to the orthodox religion, especially the Christian …show more content…
For theft, the person would have to pay fines, do extra work or have a hand cut off. Women Gossip would have to be publicly humiliated and would have to wear a scold bridle for a couple hours. The punishment for high treason was to be drawn (attached to a wooden panel and dragged by a horse) , hanged (taken off before the person dies) than quartered (cut into quarters while still alive), as gruesome as that sounds it did happen, I am thankful that we do not still do this because it is an evil slowly but extremely painful way to kill someone. The crime of heresy also was addressed to court and had a couple of punishment, one being the thumbscrew which broke fingers, elbows, knees and much more. The crimes today are things like murder, rape (sexually assaulting someone), theft, child abuse (verbally, physically and/or sexually and drunk driving (driving while being over the legal limit). In most places theft can be given a year/years in prison depending on what the stolen item was, and that occurs in many countries including India, Australia, America and much more. For rape, it is also a consequence of jail for a few years and that takes place in many countries and cities. Drunk driving in Australia issues a fine for the person and so does
According to Hammurabi, the punishment was death. One last felony that has different punishments
...ments. Through the public humiliation of hundreds of criminals, public squares became lively areas full of excitement and joy. Even if it did not effectively deter crime, the cruel and unusual punishments of the Elizabethan Era helped citizens keep occupied. When punishments were not deadly, they were still painful enough to strike fear into the citizens of England. Obviously, the Elizabethan Era was a very violent time in England.
“Crime was met with violent, cruel punishments.” For something as simple as stealing an apple a commoner would lose their hand. They did this for embarrassment. If someone saw them with one hand, they would know you had stolen. “Many executions were witnessed by hundreds of people.” An execution only happened if a threat was made on royals or murder. An execution day was many commoners favorite day. They got the whole day off of work. On these days the whole town would gather and watch as the criminal got his head chopped off. Everything in this time had more painful punishments, but not because of their lack of technology; but because the leaders wanted you to learn your lesson. If someone lost a hand for stealing, they would most likely not do it again.
Criminals were not dealt with in private. They were displayed in towns and the middle of the marketplace for all the people to see. Many were witnessed by hundreds of people. Commoners treated punishment days as “exciting” days out("Elizabethan Crime and Punishment" 1). The crowds of people who gathered for the public punishments and executions could be considered twisted individuals. They relished these days. For example, theft resulted in public hanging for all of the people to watch. Often times crimes were falsely accused and the crowds knew it, but nothing could be done. Small crimes, such as stealing bird eggs would result in a death sentence. It was the terrible price starving people had to pay because the government made begging illegal("Elizabethan Crime and Punishment" 1). Many crimes resulted in brutal beatings. Beatings and executions were definitely not an issue, the only question was the type of beating a person would get or how they a would be executed("Elizabethan Crime and Punishment" 1). A lot of times the Upper class was exempt from punishment unless it was a serious crime. Unfortunately, the Commoners did not get that valuable treatment because they were almost always in trouble. With any evidence of relationships with evil spirits condemned a person to death by hanging, burning, or drowning. More punishments included: beheading, pressing, and the drunkard's cloak. The drunkard’s cloak was basically a big barrel
The Middle Ages lasted approximately 1,000 years, from the 5th to 15th century. The early part of the Middle Ages is also known as the Dark Ages. The Middle Ages has many nicknames including the Golden Ages and Medieval Times. One of the most accurate nicknames for the Middle Ages is, the Age of Faith. When one thinks of the Golden Ages, famine, plague, economic depression, crusades, disease, bloody wars, Vikings, persecution, and torture all come to mind. Torture during the Medieval Times was viewed differently than it is viewed today. Today, torture is viewed as cruel, inhuman, and degrading. In the U.S. torture is illegal but is sometimes used by the CIA and correctional facilities without public acknowledgement. As Schild said, “ In general, there are many indication that the people living at the time did not perceive the brutality of execution in the same way we would perceive it today, because they were filled with a deep sense of sin and thus were open to torture” (Thedeus).
However there are some countries around the globe that still take part in these medieval, horrific punishments. In Iran, if you commit murder, kidnap or rape you will be hanged publicly to show what happens when you do the wrong thing. . Thankfully due to the effect of the medieval period on our lives this is a rare practice and that mankind has developed in their treatment of crime and punishment. As in Australia the death penalty is abolished and the penalty of freedom has taken its place as if you commit murder, kidnap or rape you will be confined to a small space for a long period of time therefore keeping the modern society
The impact of Christianity, the fantastic architecture, and the horrible diseases that spread throughout Europe all contribute to the history of the Middle Ages. They helped shape one of the greatest periods in history. The Middle Ages will always be remembered as a time of great accomplishments and horrible struggles. The great architecture still stands today, while the literary works are continuously studied and reflected upon. The Black Death still remains one of the most devastating epidemics that the world has ever seen. The Middle Ages were truly a great period in Europe’s history.
When the our criminal justice system introduced punishments, sanctions for criminal behavior tended to be public events which were designed to shame the person and deter others. These punishments included ducking stool, the pillory, whipping, branding and the stocks. As years progressed, these punishments have slowly started disappear from our penology and capital punishment was introduced. According to Kronenwetter,
"Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan England." Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan England. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. Citation (3)
Under the Greek law of The Draconian Code all crime no matter how small it was always punishable by death (Bedau). The most well-known time period was the French Revolution when anyone that was unlike the citizens would find a crime that they could be killed for such as treason. King Louie the XVI was one of the last people killed during that time for treason because of his lavish life style and the massive amount of poverty wit...
The lesson is situated in the fourth week, and is the eleventh and second last lesson in the unit outline.
First crimes during the Elizabethan Age varied depending on what social class you were in. The upper class people, the nobility,committed crimes such as rebellion, sedition, witchcraft and high treason. Rebellion in the Elizabethan Age would be considered resisting against authority at the time which was the queen. Two major
Criminal Law, this is the law we hear most about as Americans. Since this is considered statutory it covers certain wrongs that are considered social evils and threats. To some they may seem laws against sins. There are three categories of criminal law. Petty offenses such as traffic violations, littering and loitering usually punished by a fine. Misdemeanor offenses are considered serious but major crimes such as prostitution, gambling and first time spousal abuse which are punishable by larger fines or short jail sentences or even community service. Felonies which are major crimes such as imprisonment punishes rape, murder, robbery and extortion.
Crime constructs us as a society whilst society, simultaneously determines what is criminal. Since society is always changing, how we see crime and criminal behavior is changing, thus the way in which we punish those criminal behaviors changes. In the early modern era in Europe, public executions were the primary punishment given to members of society who were involved in criminal behavior. This form of punishment served to showcase the absolute power of the state, King and church to take away the life of any citizen who disrupts peace. It was a way to make the criminal justice system visible and effective in an era when the criminal justice system was in its beginning stages of demonstrating orderliness (Spierenburg). More specifically, it was a relatively straightforward and psychological way to evoke deterrence. The potential of gruesome violence, public persecution and religious betrayal were tools thought to be strong enough to make public executions a successful form of deterrence because within the community, social bonds and religion were the fou...
person knew that a particularly painful punishment was in-store for them, they would not commit the crime. This led to the creation of such punishments as beatings, torture, banishment, death, fines, and public humiliation.