What were the purposes of punishments given by courts
in the Middle Ages?
The BIG QUESTION in this Gallery is about
the purposes of punishment. It is doubtful that those people who administered
justice in the various courts of Medieval England thought very hard about
the purposes of the punishments they handed down. Nevertheless, different
ideas about punishment can clearly be seen in the different kinds of sentences
As you can find out in Gallery 2, crime prevention was in the hands
of the local community. Punishments therefore had to be simple and generally
seen to be fair. It was also, as you can see in Gallery 1, a mainly law-abiding
time, with a powerful Church which taught a duty to be merciful. Fierce,
physical punishments like mutilation (cutting off part of the offender's
body), common in earlier periods, were now rarely used. On the other hand,
there was no police force, so serious offences had to be dealt with firmly
and quickly. The death penalty was used quite often.
Those in authority who operated the system of justice did not expect to
have to spend lots of money on it. Expensive punishments, like prison
(gaol, as they called it) were not often used. There were gaols, often
in the dungeons of castles, but criminals were not routinely sent there.
So what were the punishments given out by the courts of Medieval England?
And what do you think was the point of each?
In the Case-studies of this Gallery you will find examples of several
kinds of punishments. Use the Gallery Worksheet to analyse what was the
purpose of each.
1. Medieval Punishments
2. Capital Punishment
How To Work
1. Work through each of these Case-Studies. Read and analyse the sources
in each. There are HINTS in each to help you get the most out of the Sources.
2. At the end of the Case-Study, fill in some of the Gallery Worksheet.
3. Move on to the next Case-Study. You will only really be able to answer
the Key Question when you have done both the Case-Studies. However, you
could divide the job between two halves of the class, sharing their results.