Norman Legal System (AQA GCSE History): Revision Note

Summary

The Normans took over a country with a well-developed and effective legal system. For this reason, William decided to keep most aspects of it in place but ensure that the law was applied more consistently. The Normans also introduced certain features such as the honorial courts and trial by battle. 

The Anglo-Saxon legal system

• The Anglo-Saxons had a very effective legal system to help maintain law and order

• It had several key features including:

  • Hue and cry

  • Watchmen

  • Constables

  • Courts

Hue and Cry

• If a person witnessed or discovered a crime, they were responsible for raising a hue and cry 

• Anyone who heard this had a duty to help catch the culprit

Watchmen

• Men who were appointed to enforce the nighttime curfews and catch criminals in towns 

Constables

• These men had the power to arrest people 

• They could also put people in stocks for fighting and other disorderly behaviour 

Courts

• Depending on the seriousness of the crime, there was a hierarchy of courts to decide on guilt and issue punishments

Norman legal courts

• The Normans maintained much of the existing Anglo-Saxon legal system but ensured it was more consistently applied across the country

• Although most of the key features were kept, there were some new developments under the Normans; such as the honorial courts

• From 1076, people who worked for the Church were tried in separate Church Courts

  • Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury, established these as he didn’t believe that the ordinary courts had the authority to judge churchmen

    • This gave the church more power 

  • The punishments handed out in the Church Courts were often less severe than those in the secular courts

    • This caused anger and frustration amongst the wider public

Norman trials 

• Much like the changes to the courts, the Normans made partial rather than total changes to the methods of trial that had been held in Anglo-Saxon England

• The logic behind the trials was based on the belief that God would protect the innocent

  • Therefore, by undergoing an ordeal, God was allowed to prove a person’s guilt or innocence

  • Collectively, these trials are known as trial by ordeal

Trial by cold water

• Water would be blessed by a priest and the accused person was submerged in it

• If the person floated, it was believed this proved that the holy water was rejecting them and they were therefore guilty

Trial by hot iron

• The accused person would be ordered to hold a red-hot piece of iron

• If, after three days, the wound was healing well they were pronounced innocent

• If the wound had become infected, it was believed to be proof of their guilt

Trial by battle

• This was introduced by the Normans

• The accused person and their accuser would fight using swords or pointed sticks

• Innocence or guilt was proved by the outcome of the fight

The ‘murdrum’ fine

• The ‘murdrum’ fine was the name given to the heavy fine issued to all Anglo-Saxons in the area where a Norman had been murdered

  • It was intended to act as a deterrent and prevent Normans in isolated and unfriendly areas from being attacked and killed

  • ‘Murdrum’ fines continued to be issued until the murderer was handed over to the Normans 

The Forest Laws

• In Anglo-Saxon England, the forests had been an important source of food as people regularly hunted animals in them

• William ended this access to the forests for ordinary people by introducing the Forest laws

  • Punishment for hunting could involve fines or even executions

• The Forest Laws were deeply resented by the Anglo-Saxon population who had relied on hunting when harvests were poor

• The forest laws made it illegal to do the following without a licence:

  • graze animals

  • own a bow and arrow

  • hunt deer

  • own dogs

  • cut down trees

• Many people ignored this law and local communities did not report people them