Crime & Punishment

Crime depended on region, though certain conditions resulted in a broad range of similar criminal charges being brought. Theft, murder, and rape are regular criminal charges, and many societies defined these as the illegal taking of goods, a life, or the forced sexual assault of an individual victim. Each of these carried severe penalties, though some minor offences could result in severe punishment too. Other crimes that regularly occurred are: slander, receiving stolen goods, arson, counterfeiting coins, treason / high treason, highway robbery, rebellion or revolt, poaching, heresy, witchcraft, vagrancy (it is a crime to be homeless & jobless), being a gossiping woman, not working hard, adultery, sodomy, and drunk & disorderly.
The most common crime is theft, and murder ranked quite high too.

The punishment for a crime usually relied on what type of crime has occurred. Theft (and related crimes) usually results in extra work & fines or the cutting off of a hand. Murder usually results in execution by hanging or beheading. People not working hard enough are flogged, and cheating spouses or drunkenness are usually placed in the stocks or a pillory (the former holds their ankles, and the latter, the neck & wrists). The scolds bridle is used for women gossiping (a metal strap going round the mouth, and another coming over the head. a slip of metal protrudes into the mouth, sometimes with a miniature spike pointing down onto the tongue). For treason it usually involves one of the most barbaric punishments. They are hung, drawn and quartered. This involves hanging by the neck, then cut down before they die, and then beheaded, followed by the other remains being quartered. The head is usually kept at the place of execution, while the quartered parts are sent to different cities in the country for display. Heresy is banishment until the offender recants (usually after a period of time), or burned at the stake if they don't. Witchcraft is punishable by death by strangulation, and if severe enough is burned at the stake or both. The other crimes usually have similar punishments, though it can result in some like the deliberate cutting off of or out of another body part (like the tongue), branding or tattooing (especially on the face to show the crime), crucifixion as a death penalty, some form of public shaming over the course of a period of time, general mutilation, loss of status, slavery, blood debt (paying off a set amount like a fine if violence was involved in a crime), dunking in water while tied, grasping a piece of heated metal or stone (can be used to determine guilt or innocence), flaying, or staked (where the criminal has a long sturdy metal or sharpened metal pole slid into their anus or vagina, then lifted up to make their weight slide down onto the pole, eventually having it pierce deeper in until through the body).
Some exotic versions involve other torturous methods such as the Spanish Pear / Pear of Anguish, the Brazen Bull, the Wrack, the Blood Eagle, or sawed in half from groin to head (when tied upside down).
Manorial Courts & Trial by Jury: The Manorial Court was the lowest court of law during the medieval period. All crimes apart from serious crimes were dealt by the manorial court. A manorial court was held multiple times during a year and it was mandatory for all the villagers to attend or else they had to pay a fine. All men were divided into the groups of ten known as the tithing. Each tithing was given the responsibility to make sure that no member of their group committed a crime and if one did then other members had to make sure to bring him to the court. The person in charge of the court was Lord’s Steward. There was a jury that consisted of twelve men chosen by the villagers. It was the jury’s responsibility to collect evidence in order to decide whether the accused was guilty or not. And if accused was found guilty the jury had to decide and they then decided the punishment as well.
The King’s Court – Trial by Ordeal: The King’s court dealt with the serious crimes such as assault, murder and treason as these crimes were considered as crimes against the King. The King’s court meet several times in a year and has a prominent role in the medieval crimes and punishment system. The accused had to face the trial by ordeal in which their innocence or guilt was judged by subjecting them to unpleasant ordeals. These ordeals are ordeals by fire, The ordeal by water and The ordeal by Combat.
Medieval Punishment – Ordeal by Fire: During the ordeal by fire the accused has to walk a distance of around 9 feet either by holding a red hot iron or over a red hot plough share. After that, their wounds were bandaged and they were asked to appear before the court after three days. After three days their bandages are opened. In cases where healing of wounds had started the accused are declared innocent, whereas in cases where there is no signs of improvement the accused are pronounced guilty and were punished according to their crime. It is thought that God intervened in order to save the innocent and with God’s powers the healing of wounds started to take place.
Medieval Punishment – Ordeal by Water: In the ordeal by water, there are two kinds of ordeals. One is an ordeal by cold water, whereas the other is an ordeal by hot water. In the ordeal by cold water, hands and feet of the accused are tied together and they are thrown into the water. If they started floating, it means that they are innocent but if they sink they are declared guilty. During ordeal by hot water the accused has to dip their hands in a kettle with boiling water and has to pick a stone from depth. After three days their wounds are judged. In case of healing signs they were considered innocent, anything else meant they are guilty.
Medieval Punishment – Ordeal by Combat:
In case of ordeal by combat the two parties in dispute has to fight. It is mostly done when one party is accused by the other, but there is no witnesses or confessions. The winner of the fight is declared innocent. It is one of the most common methods employed by the judiciary during the middle ages.

This is the general census in Europe, and in places of Manorial Courts, some places like Scandinavia, they meet at the Long House to carry out such punishments. Also, some other regions, especially in lands with a Celtic influence, trial by combat , tattooing / branding, or mutilation is common. Homosexuality needs mentioned here, as the views in Europe at least are starting to change. Many regions tolerated homosexuality to a degree, though the act sodomy is a serious crime in many especially where the Christianity is firmly established. This also includes masturbation. These laws are usually at the behest of the Church. Bestiality follows the same.