History - Crime and Punishment - Medieval Times - The Church

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1000-1500:

The Church

Church courts:

  • Any churchman accused of crime could be tried in the church courts
  • Church courts could never give the death sentence, Royal courts could
  • Churches also dealt with moral offences:
  • Not attending church, drunkedness, adultery and playing football on Sunday

Benefit of the clergy:

  • The accused claimed the right to be tried in the more lenient Church courts
  • In theory it was only meant for priests
  • In practice, anyone even distantly connected to the church used it
  • To deal with this,

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