Crime and punishment in the Middle Ages

People in the Middle Ages had a very harsh approach to lawbreaking. Even relatively minor offences often carried the death penalty. This did not appear to deter crime.

The murder rate was far higher in those days than it is today. It’s hard to know the true homicide rate because reporting wasn’t as accurate in those days and crime-solving was basic and often unreliable. But we do know that violent crime was a far bigger problem in Medieval times than it is now.

For example, the number of murders per 100,000 people in 1995 to 1997 in London was 2.1. But according to one historian, it would have been about 12 murders per 100,000 people in Fourteenth Century England. [The National Archives]

Many activities that are now legal were illegal in the Middle Ages and carried stiff penalties. Poverty, for example, was punished under various vagrancy laws.


Some Medieval punishments continued far beyond the Middle Ages.
John Waller was put in the stocks for perjury in London in 1732.
The angry crowds pelted him to death.
Source: Newgate Calendar

Vagrancy

It was against the law to be poor or homeless in the Middle Ages. Anyone that was unemployed was considered to be lazy and criminal.

During the Early Modern period, which followed the Middle Ages, a number of laws were passed to deal with “vagabonds”, a derogatory name for beggars and homeless people.

“They were whipped from 1531, branded with a ‘V’ on their faces from 1547 (mutilation) and hanged for a repeat offence.” [Learn History Crime and Punishment]

Theft

The punishment for theft in the Middle Ages was very severe. Anyone convicted of stealing a shilling or more could be hanged. People found guilty of minor theft could have their hands or ears cut off, be branded with hot irons, shamed in the stocks or whipped through the streets.

This did not appear to deter people from stealing.

According to figures obtained from eight counties between 1300 and 1348, theft made up 73.5% of all recorded offences, followed by murder, which accounted for 18.2% of crime. [The National Archives]

Branding thieves with hot irons continued to be used as a punishment until 1789 at the Old Bailey, London's central criminal court. The punishment would take place at the end of court sessions in front of spectators.

Thieves were branded on the thumb with the letter "T" so that if they came up before the court again, they would be instantly recognisable as former thieves.

Convicts were only allowed to be branded once in their lifetimes - if they offended again they would face much stiffer punishments.

Cambridge woman branded with hot irons

On 18 April 1683 Mary Smith, a Cambridge servant who had recently moved to London, was found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey of stealing goods worth less than a shilling.

She was convicted of stealing a coat and waistcoat from her master, Allen Tuller, from his home in Blackfriars in London, on 22 February 1863. The clothes were valued at about 10 old pennies - the equivalent of about £3.50 today.

The court heard that Smith had taken the items and sold them on.

The defendant protested her innocence, calliming that she had received the goods from a young man lodging at her master's house, whom she had vaguely known while living in Cambridge. She told the court that the man had told her the clothes belonged to him and that he wanted her to sell them on his behalf.

However, the jury found her guilty and at the end of court sessions that day, she and five others were burnt in the hand with hot irons.

Capital crimes 

Many offences in the Middle Ages were punishable by death.

Medieval courts were very different to modern day courts, with trials biased in favour of the prosecution, rather than being balanced and fair. Accused felons – people accused of committing serious crime – were denied legal representation. Punishment swiftly followed conviction.

Capital crimes included murder, highway robbery, theft over a shilling, rioting, forgery and arson. Most convicted felons were hung, with beheading normally reserved for noblemen and women.

In those days jails were rarely used to punish people because communities weren't prepared to pay for prisoners’ upkeep.

Felons who refused to admit their guilt, often to protect their property from being confiscated from their families, could be crushed or “pressed” to death with weights.

Anyone convicted of high treason would be hung, drawn and quartered.

Most towns and villages had gibbets, similar to the one seen at Caxton Gibbet in Cambridgeshire. These gallows were used for public hangings.

After executions, people’s bodies would be left to rot to warn others about the consequences of lawbreaking. Judging by the volume of violent crime in the Middle Ages, this did not appear to act as a deterrent!

Other punishments

Other punishments handed out by Medieval courts included fining people for petty crime.

There was also a wide range of punishments aimed to humiliate wrong-doers in front of their community. This included being put in the stocks, being placed in ducking stools which were dipped into water or being whipped.

Sources

 

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