Crime And Punishment In The Middle Ages

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One of the most influential time periods in English history is the Medieval Ages. Many historically rich events took place during the middle ages. There were political advances, wars, plagues, economic advances, famines and great tragedies. Death, disease and hunger were three very known ordeals during this era. With little to no law enforcement, there was no way of keeping up with crime or unneeded deaths. Everyone was believed to have the power of justice in his or her own hands and many wrongfully died for it. Crime and Punishment in the Medieval Era was not only, harsh and unorthodox, but also, corrupt and unfair for criminals and authorities alike.
In the Middle Ages people believed that the only way to get others to obey the law, was …show more content…

They had been using policing systems dating back to the Saxons. The most common way the authorities dealt with a crime was Trial by Ordeals. There were three main ordeals used commonly in court. Ordeal by water, Ordeal by fire, and Ordeal by combat. When using Ordeal by water a person would be tied to a weight and thrown in a lake. If they floated they were considered guilty, if they sank they were innocent. Either way many deaths resulted from this ordeal. Ordeal by fire consisted of holding a hot poker in the palm of your hand, burning you. If the wound healed after three days you were considered innocent, if it did not heal you were considered guilty and punished accordingly. The third ordeal, Ordeal by combat, was often used in the higher class. A man would fight for the accused and a man would fight for the accuser. The winner of the battle would be considered in gods favor and let free as an innocent. Ordeals were later replaced by trial by jury in 1215. The lord’s stewards led the court and the jury was made of twelve men selected by the villagers. The jury collected evidence and decided the fate of the accused and their punishment. To ensure that the criminal went to court they had tithings. A tithing was a group of men, most of the time from the same street, which had to make sure that each other attended court if they were charged or accused of a crime. At the head of every tithing was the Chief Tithing Man, and every man in a tithing had to take an oat to be

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