Crime c1000-15000

Crimes Against the Person

- Assault or murder

- Anything that causes physical harm to another person

Crimes Against Property

- Theft, robbery and arson

- Things that involve taking or damaging something that belongs to another person

Moral Crimes

- Actions that didn't match society's views on decent behaviour

-Crimes against the Church like stealing Church property.

Murdrum

-Normans using the law to establish control over the Anglo-Saxon Population

- If a Norman was murdered by an Anglo-Saxon and the murderer isn't caught, there was a speciality penalty called murdrum fine.

- Was supposed to stop revenge murders after the Norman Invasion and turn the Anglo's against each other

William I's Forest Laws

- William declared large stretches of the English countryside to be 'royal forests' to use for hunting

- Meant common land is now controlled by the king and peasants can't graze animals or take firewood

-  Created Social Crimes aka against the law but people don't disapprove

Outlaws

- Any man over 14 who tried to avoid trial and punishment by running away from his community

- Women were called 'waived'

The lost protection of the law and could be killed without any legal consequences

Strong Links to the forest

- Like the Robin Hood Story 

Outlaw gangs carried out many serious crimes like the Folville Gang

The Statue of Labourers

- The Black Death killed a third of the population and had fewer workers available

- To stop peasants from demanding higher wages, The Statue of Labourers was passed by parliament (1351). It introduced a maximum wage for workers and made it a crime to ask for more.

Heresy

- Laws against heresy introduced in 1382, 1401, and 1414.

- Heresy is holding a set of beliefs different from those of the established religion of the time.

- The 1401 law introduced burning at the stake. Law of 1414 gave Justices of the Peace.