History Middle Ages

Were any of the Laws changed between Normans and Middle Ages?

No the Middle age kings kept the Norman laws and added a few instead. This was probably due to wanting to make crime investigations more accurate and each new king having new ideas

1 of 37

How did King Henry II change the use of juries after 1154?

1166 - AoC law to use grand juries to investigate recent crimes. Henry made them more regular and important / 1176 - AoN GJ have the power to decide case should be examined further in court / during - petty juries encouraged to decide g/i instead TbO

2 of 37

How did King Richard I change the use of juries after 1154?

During his reign (1189-99), he introduced a new legal official - a coroner - to investigate suspicious deaths and aid the jury

3 of 37

After Henry II, how did the juries change over the middle ages period?

Petty Juries became more important until by the end of the 14th century Trial by Jury was the normal method of deciding guilt and Trial by Ordeal was not needed

4 of 37

What was the Travelling Justices in Eyre?

Henry II divided the country into six eyres/circuits. Royal judges travelled around each to hear leagl cases using English common Law. Edward III (1361) JoP Act. Land owners heard lesser serious crimes, held quarter sessions, took over h+s courts

5 of 37

How did Church Justice change after 1154?

Henry II attempted to reduce their power. He had to keep their courts because they were so powerful in the English system. After AoC he took away property cases however the King still had use of them

6 of 37

Why were Church Courts important during the middle ages?

The church provided educated men to record laws, draw up the King's writs and act as judges - influenced laws made and how guilty were punished. King needed them to arrest, torture and execute heretics e.g John Wyclif early 15th century

7 of 37

Which new court was introduced in the 12th century?

The court of Kins Bench - the most serious crimes were dealt with here. It took some cases out of local courts if they were thought to be serious enough

8 of 37

How did prisons evolve during the middle ages?

County gaols were introduced in 1154 were accused people were kept before the judge arrived to try their case. In 1285 EI set up a new law forcing all men to join a posse comitatus to help the sheriff catch criminals - extension of tithings/hue + cry

9 of 37

When did the peasants revolt take place?

June 1381

10 of 37

What did the peasants do?

An army led by Wat Tyler marched from Kent and Essex onto London. They destroyed tax records and registers. They captured the Tower of London and after having met with the King, killed the Archbishop of Canterbury and the King's treasurer.

11 of 37

Why did the peasants start a revolt?

Black Death - workers got privileges due to labour shortage, fear these were taken away / War - poll tax 5p was too much for peasants and losing goods was deadly / Church needs - peasants forced to work on church land, had little time for their own

12 of 37

What happened to the peasants' attitude during their London protest?

They lost their discipline and Wat couldn't get it back. Many went looting, got drunk and murdered foreingners

13 of 37

What happened on June 14th?

Richard II met with the rebels at Mile End. He promised that he would give the peasants all that they ask for and asked that they go home in peace. Some peasants did but others returned to the city and murdered the archbishop of and treasurer

14 of 37

What happened on June 15th?

Richard met the peasants again outside the city at Smithfield on the advice of Lord Mayor. The LM killed Wat- bias evidence - after another promise, the peasants went home

15 of 37

What happened in the revolt's aftermath?

Wat had been killed. john Ball was hanged. Other leaders from Kent and Essex were also hanged. Poll Tax withdrawn and peasants forced back to their old way of life. However, wages raised due to labour shortages

16 of 37

What laws did the peasants' revolt break? How should they have been punished?

Rebellion against king, murder of important officials, arson - punishable by death ( burning, hanging, beheading, stoning or possibly drowning)

17 of 37

Why was it difficult to catch outlaws?

They lived in forests meaning they could hide easily / There was no real police force - only hue + cry, posse comitatus existed - no time to search forests thoroughly and effective system to catch them

18 of 37

Why was it difficult to control outlaws?

Rich friends controlled them - Folville gang protected by nobles - you can't control someone who is faithful to another / Outlaws were all over the place - gangs were in Nottingham, Bedfordshire, Yorkshire - widespread difficult to pinpoint and catch

19 of 37

Why was it difficult to punish outlaws?

Gangs may come and save them - Nicholas Tailor saved his brother - you can't punish a rescued person / Learned ways to escape - 38 members learnt the neck verse - can't execute someone who recites the neck verse

20 of 37

How could you avoid the death penalty in the later Middle Ages?

Benefit of clergy - if you could prove you were a clergyman (neck verse), you were sent to church courts which didn't execute criminals / Times of war hired criminals / Rich could buy pardons, king needed money / Pregnancy meant women not hanged

21 of 37

What was a king's approver?

A criminal could become this and escape punishment if he could provide evidence and convict other criminals

22 of 37

What was Hue and Cry? How effective was it?

If anyone witnessed a crime, they had to shout and alert others. If you ignored the cry, then the whole village would be fined a large sum of money / Effective in that everyone was involved, however criminals escaped if they hid well or ran fast

23 of 37

What was a constable? How effective were they?

Introduced in the 1250s. Not regular policemen but regular people who kept the peace outside of work hours. They weren't paid and held the job for a year / More organised system and helped keep town's peace

24 of 37

What was a county coroner? How effective were they?

First appointed in 1190s. Local person employed to look at unusual deaths and aid the jury. They reported to the sheriff / Could determine accident or murder and provided evidence for cases making them fairer

25 of 37

What was a sheriff? How effective were they?

They had to track down and imprison criminals. If H+C didn't work, they would go with their PC and take pursuit. They investigated all other major crimes / More likely to catch criminal more reliable than H+C

26 of 37

What was a jury? How effective are they?

Local people (men) served in court as a group to identify criminals and aid the case' judgement / Reach a reasonable conclusion after trial making it fairer. No bias and took into account all sorts of evidence

27 of 37

What were local judges? How effective were they?

Local landowners acted a JoP in 1/4 sessions and as judges in private and manor courts. They decided the punishment / Made sure trials were fairer, made sure everything was heard

28 of 37

What laws changed between Normans and Late Middle Ages?

No laws were changed however some were added. This may be due to wanting to make crime investigations more accurate and trials fairer and multiple Kings having different ideas

29 of 37

How did the use of prisons change between Normans and Late Middle Ages?

Normans didn't have prisons however MA did. They used them to hold suspects in one place until their trial occurred and the judge arrived. Prisons were probably introduced for the ease of keeping suspects in 1 place and lower risk of running away

30 of 37

How did the frequency of the death penalty change between Normans and Middle Ages?

Normans did not use it frequently as they were very religious and believed in reformation of criminals. MA used it quite frequently - church had lost power, TbO gradually disappeared, king wanted to show his authority over religious beliefs

31 of 37

How did their methods of policing change between N and MA?

Each time period continued H+C and sheriffs. However, PC replaced tithings in MA. This may be because tithings were less effective and less organised than PC

32 of 37

How did the court system change between N and MA?

Normans had 5 but MA had 7 originally before it also became 5. This probably happened to reorganise the system so more crimes could be dealt with in a more systematic way. Attempt to reduce Church's power in Law and Order

33 of 37

How did the presentation of the final verdict change between N and MA?

Depending on which court you were in depended on who gave the final verdict. There was no difference between these two time periods.

34 of 37

How did the importance of religion change between N and MA?

William thought highly of religion however, he still thought the ruler was more important. After Henry II the importance of religion just decreased over time and so ruler has always been seen as more important

35 of 37

How did the most and least serious crimes change between N and MA?

Both rebellion and heresy stayed as the most serious crimes with their punishments including death during N and MA. Similarly the least serious crime for both periods was petty theft and punishment included fines. However, MA added stocks and pillory

36 of 37

What was a royal writ?

This was a written instruction by the King. It was more common now than in Anglo-Saxon where it was first introduced. They were used by Henry II to inform powerful sheriffs of the King's decisions about law and authority

37 of 37

Get Revising

History Middle Ages

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Back

Card 3

Front

Back

Card 4

Front

Back

Card 5

Front

Back

Comments

Similar History resources:

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Back

Card 3

Front

Back

Card 4

Front

Back

Card 5

Front

Back

Comments

Related discussions on The Student Room

Similar History resources: