LibGuides: Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages: Home

Book that may help

Medieval Law and Punishment by Donna Trembinski
Call Number: 940.1 TRE
Medieval Life by Andrew Langley
Call Number: 940.1 LAN
Life During the Middle Ages by Earle Rice
Call Number: 909.07 RIC
Horrible Histories : Cruel crime and painful punishments by Terry Deary
Call Number: DEA

Medieval Courts

Early Medieval Courts
While many Australians know that Australia's judicial system is based on the British judiciary, very few would realise that this court system has origins which extend back to the Middle Ages.
Types of courts under law in the Middle Ages
The society of The Middle Ages was largely divided in three parts, the priests, the member of nobility, and the serfs.

Trial by Ordeal

In Dark Age England, guilt could be determined by ordeal, i.e. clergy burning a suspect with a hot iron, seeing if God would help heal their wounds. Or seeing if they would sink or float when put into sanctified water.

Links

Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages
The middle ages was a time of severe punishment and harsh torture for crimes that today would seem trivial. People were beheaded and limbs cut off, vagabonds were often whipped and chained in stocks.
Medieval Law and Order
Law and order was very harsh in Medieval England. Those in charge of law and order believed that people would only learn how to behave properly if they feared what would happen to them if they broke the law.
Medieval Life - Crime and Punishment
Throughout the medieval period it was believed that the only way to keep order was to make sure that the people were scared of the punishments given for crimes committed. For this reason all crimes from stealing to murder had harsh punishments.
The truth about Medieval torture
Torture was a common sentence for traitors, spies and even common thieves. In case of violators of civil law, the torture would be carried out in the town square in order to communicate to the citizenry that violating the law was a serious matter.
Witches & Witchcraft in the Middle Ages
Witchcraft in the Middle Ages was a controversial crime that was equally punishable to poisoning. If one was accused of witchcraft, the charges could be dropped by a relative’s defense in a trial by combat, or by twelve people swearing an oath of the accused’s innocence.
The Witch Trials
During the Medieval period, there was widespread belief in magic across Christian Europe. The Medieval Roman Catholic Church, which then dominated a large swath of the continent, divided magic into two forms: natural magic, which was acceptable because it was viewed as merely taking note of the powers in nature that were created by God, and demonic magic, which was frowned upon and associated with demonology.
Medieval Life and Times
The term Medieval derives from the Latin words 'medium aevum' meaning the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages are so called as the middle period between the decline of the Roman Empire and prior to the period called the Renaissance. The early Middle Ages are often referred to as the Dark Ages. The period and era of the Medieval times span 1066 - 1485.

What was this used for...?

Knee Splitter

The knee splitter was one of the most popular devices for middle ages torture. It was largely used during the Inquisition. The knee splitter split the offender’s knees so that the knees would become nonfunctional. This device was created using two wooden blocks that had spikes on them. It also featured two large screws that held the wooden blocks together.

The device would be placed on top and below the victim’s knees and then the screws would be adjusted accordingly to crash the victim’s knees and to destroy them. The knee splitter was also used to crash the arms.

Types of punishment in the Middle Ages

Pillory

Ducking Stool

Scold's Bridal (Brank)