Medieval Crime and Punishment
During the Middle Ages, punishment was very brutal. The court would do anything to have you admit your crime and by that, I mean ANYTHING. They would even go to the brutal extent of torturing people. Some of the people who were punished weren’t even guilty of the crime they “committed”. If a priest was exacting a confession from a supposed heretic he wasn't allowed to draw blood. Drawing blood would be considered a sin. Some of the torture methods were: the rat and cage, the toe wedge, truth by fire, coffin torture foot roasting etc.
The Courts
There were three different courts in the middle ages: Manor court (the less serious court) The Church Court (not obeying church rules), and Royal Court (the most harsh usually resulting in torture or death).
Manor Court- all villages had a list of local laws these laws were listed in a document called a Custumal. If anyone saw another person breaking the law they had to raise an alarm and chase after the criminal and if it was possible, detain them until help arrived. When villagers heard what was called A “hue and cry”, They had to stop whatever they were doing and join the chase for the criminal. If they did not join, they would would be charged with the crime as well
Church Court- The church court was a court run by priests, bishops, and deacons and they could only judge monks, nuns, deacons, priests, and any member of the church. Unlike the other courts, the members of church court could not kill anyone,so they had to get "creative", and not necessarily in a good way...
Royal Court-The Royal court was the most gruesome of all courts in the Middle Ages. It almost always ended in torture or death. Very few people came out of royal court alive.
The Royal Court was the center of all the kingdom. It is here that a monarch demonstrated his power with great banquets and ceremonies, collected taxes, settled disputes, and made laws. Henry II of England settled arguments over land holdings with special court sessions, and Louis IX of France insisted on listening to court cases in person.
Manor Court- all villages had a list of local laws these laws were listed in a document called a Custumal. If anyone saw another person breaking the law they had to raise an alarm and chase after the criminal and if it was possible, detain them until help arrived. When villagers heard what was called A “hue and cry”, They had to stop whatever they were doing and join the chase for the criminal. If they did not join, they would would be charged with the crime as well
Church Court- The church court was a court run by priests, bishops, and deacons and they could only judge monks, nuns, deacons, priests, and any member of the church. Unlike the other courts, the members of church court could not kill anyone,so they had to get "creative", and not necessarily in a good way...
Royal Court-The Royal court was the most gruesome of all courts in the Middle Ages. It almost always ended in torture or death. Very few people came out of royal court alive.
The Royal Court was the center of all the kingdom. It is here that a monarch demonstrated his power with great banquets and ceremonies, collected taxes, settled disputes, and made laws. Henry II of England settled arguments over land holdings with special court sessions, and Louis IX of France insisted on listening to court cases in person.
The Royal Court
The Rack
Works Sited
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"The Rack." Britanica Image Quest. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. <http://quest.eb.com/images/>.
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