Laws and Crimes

Crimes against people - Examples are Assault and Murder

Crimes against Property - Examples are Theft and Arson

Crimes against Authority - Examples are Treason

Moral Crimes - Drunkeness, Adultery, Skipping Church

In this period, most of the laws of the Saxons were maintained. The cause to this continuity was, perhaps, to stress that William the Conqueror was the true heir to the throne.

Murdrum Law was introduced. It worked in this way: if a Norman was murdered, a fine was paid by all the Normans living in the area. This made Saxons collectively responsible for murderers, thus reducing the likelihood.

The Forest Laws were introduced. They banned the collection of firewood, hunting and the grazing of animals on land owned by William. The only real resaon for this was as William loved to hunt.

Wergild was abolished, in a way. In actuality, it was merely changed, so that instead of an offender having to pay a fine to their victim, the money went directly to the King.

The Murdrum Fine was abolished, as social and racial tensions between the Saxons and Normans began to fade.

The Heresy Laws were introduced, in 1382. They aimed to crush opposition to the Church, especially as different beliefs began to arise in the country.

The Statute of Labourers was introuduced in 1351. This involved the creation of a maximum wage for workers, as after the Black Death in 1348, there were fewer workers, due the dramatic decrease in the population of England. This meant that survivng workers were able to charge extortionate amounts of money for the work they did, causing employers to worry.