Punishments in the Saxon & Medieval Eras (WJEC Eduqas GCSE History): Revision Note

What Influenced Punishments in the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Periods? - Summary 

Punishments in Saxon and Medieval England were influenced by religion and community values. People believed that God decided guilt or innocence, which is why trials like trial by ordeal were common. Local communities played an important role in maintaining order, with juries of villagers who knew the accused. 

Most punishments were designed to deter crime and shame the offender, such as public whippings, fines, or being placed in the stocks. For repeat offenders, mutilation or even execution could be used. After the Norman Conquest, new ideas such as the murdrum fine and trial by combat showed that punishment was becoming more controlled by the king’s justice, not just local customs.

Harsh Punishments in the Saxon Era

Anglo-Saxon Punishments 

• There were two types of trial in Anglo-Saxon England:

  • Trial by jury

  • Trial by ordeal

Trial by jury

• Took place in a court

• Men from the village tithing made up the jury

  • They had to reach a verdict 

  • They did this by listening to accounts from the accused, the accuser and any witnesses

  • They could also use their knowledge of people’s characters to help

• Some cases were settled using oaths to swear innocence

• The jury could support the accused by being ‘oath helpers’

  • These oaths, also known as compurgation, were made ‘before God’

  • People believed that God would punish those who lied under oath

Trial by ordeal 

• Often took place in a church

• Occurred if a local jury could not reach a verdict

• The judgment was then handed over to God

• The accused would fast for three days and then hear Mass before the trial

• A priest was always present

• Ended in 1215

Methods of trial by ordeal

• There were different trial by ordeal methods used by the Anglo-Saxons, including

  • Trial by hot iron 

    • Taken by women (usually) 

    • They would pick up a red-hot weight and walk three paces with it 

    • Their hand would be bandaged up and unwrapped three days later 

    • They were seen as innocent if the wound was healing cleanly after three days

    • They were seen as guilty if their wound were festering after three days 

  • Trial by hot water 

    • Taken by men (usually) 

    • They would put their hand in boiling water to pick up an object 

    • Their hand would be bandaged and unwrapped after three days 

    • They were seen as innocent if the wound was healing cleanly after three days 

    • They were seen as guilty if the wound was festering after three days  

  • Trial by cold water 

    • Taken by men (usually) 

    • They were tired to a rope and lowered into the water

    • They were seen as innocent if they sank, as they were accepted by God's pure water 

    • They were seen as guilty if they floated, as they were rejected by God's pure water 

  • Trial by blessed/consecrated bread

    • Taken by priests (exclusively)  

    • The accused would eat bread blessed by a priest, who prayed that God would choke them if they were guilty

    • They were seen as innocent if they did not choke 

    • They were seen as guilty if they choked 

• Anglo-Saxons also used the blood feud system as a form of punishment 

  • A system where a family had the right to murder a member of another family in retaliation for a death

• This often led to

  • Even more violence

  • Long-running disputes between families

• The Anglo-Saxon wergild became an alternative to this

  • It was more about compensation than retribution

  • It made further violence much less likely

  • Fines and compensation became the most common punishments in the Anglo-Saxon era

    • Criminals had to pay a fine to their victims or their victims’ families

    • Used for many crimes, including murder

    • Also used in cases of physical injury

• Corporal punishment was fairly common

  • Frequently, the punishment for reoffenders

    • Mutilation was used on those who continued to commit petty theft

    • Offenders had their hand cut off

• Capital punishment was rarely used

  • Reserved for the most serious crimes, like arson or treason

• The stocks and pillory were other forms of punishment

  • Used to humiliate criminals in public

  • Often punished crimes like public disorder 

Medieval Punishments

• Many punishments continued into the medieval era, including 

  • Fines 

    • Money collected by wergild fines went to the Crown instead of to the victims 

  • Whipping or flogging 

    • For many different crimes, including not attending church or being a beggar 

  • Stocks and pillories

    • For minor crimes, including drunkenness

  • Imprisonment in gaols 

    • For those awaiting a trial or those in debt 

  • Mutilation 

    • For those who regularly commit crimes like theft

    • They would have their hands or fingers cut off

  • Execution 

    • For the most serious crimes, including treason and heresy 

    • People were executed by being hanged, burnt alive (for the crime of heresy) or hanged, drawn and executed 

• The Normans did introduce some changes, such as

  • The murdrum fine 

    • This had to be paid by the whole region if a Norman was killed 

  • Trial by combat 

  • Men would fight each other over a dispute 

    • Whoever lost the fight or was killed was seen as guilty 

    • If you survived the trial but lost, you would be hanged