Crime+and+Punishment

= toc ​ 1. Questions =


 * I wonder why the people thought that if you survived a trial by ordeal, you were guilty?
 * I wonder what stopped the idea of idea of trial by ordeal and combat?
 * I wonder who started the idea of court trials?
 * I wonder why the punishments were so harsh?

= 2. Inferences =


 * I think that they thought the water had rejected because the people in Medieval times believed that there were many different Gods, and they may have thought that the Water God did not want any person who was guilty.
 * I think that they decided that this kind of trial was unfair because it was more about skill than trying to prove one's innocence.
 * I think that the punishments had to be harsh because they thought there was no other way to make the people obey the laws.
 * I think that the punishments had to be harsh because they thought there was no other way to make the people obey the laws.

= = = 3. Resources =

Law in the Middle Ages Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages Camelot International The Finer Times Torture and Punishment in Elizabethan Times

= = = 4. Summary =

While researching crime and punishment in the middle ages, I have learned about the two main types of trials, the different court systems, as well as some of the main punishments. The main types of trials in the middle ages were trial by ordeal or by battle. In trial by ordeal, the accused person had to pass a dangerous test such as swallowing poison,pulling an objest from burning oil, walking over red hot ploughs, or carrying hot iron (Jessie and Paul). If the burns from the hot objects blistered, the person was considered guilty. Now, if the accused person was a noble, they had the right to a trial by battle. During this type of trial, the accused men would fight to the death and the winner was considered the "innocent" one. As we know, during the Medieval Times, women were not allowed to fight. This meant that if a lady was to be tried, she could hire a champion to fight for her. Next, I learned about the two major court systems. The first was the church court, in which only bishops, priest, clergy, nuns, and monks could be tried. The church courts were often less harsh than the royal courts, for example they could not sentence death. Because this court was known for being less harsh, many people (even if they did not work in the church) would go there to be tried. When the church found out about this, they started to issue a reading/writing test before the trial to assure the person was of the church. Remember, only people who were in the church knew how to read and write. The second type of court that dealt with the serious crimes was the royal court. This court had much more power than the church court and could issue executions. Executions happened fairly often, and when they did, the person's belongings and land were given to the court. Lastly, I learned about the common punishmenst that were issued in the courts. One of the most common punishments was that if a person was caught stealing, his right hand was to be cut off. Another one was that if someone sold food that was poisened, the person would be boiled to death in lead or water (Lestikow, Erin; O'Fallon, Kaitie; Patterson, Lori). These are just two of the example of the many punishments people knew would befall them if they commited such crimes. All in all, court and punishment systems have very much changed since the Medieval Times. = 5. References =

Jessie and Paul; "Law in the Middle Ages"; Accessed November 4, 2009; [] Lestikow, Erin; O'Fallon, Kaitie; Patterson, Lori; "Torture and Punishment in Elizabethan Times"; **Elizabethan England**; Accessed November 4, 2009; []

This is a Medieval pillory, one of the common punishments for minor crimes.

This is a cauldron, not unlike the one they used to boil people to death in.