For a long time after 1066, Anglo
Saxon and Norman law continued to
operate side by side, although it was
Norman law that dominated
During a civil war that lasted from 1135 to 1154, law
and order broke down
Illustrates the importance of
strong government in the
maintenance of law and order
A new system after 1154
At the end of the war, Henry 2nd's priority was to restore the priority of the king
He had to deal with powerful individuals such
as great nobles who felt strong enough to
ignore the law and decisions of the courts
One of the ways he did this was by updating and drawing up
together Anglo-Saxon, Norman and royal laws and created the basis
of the English Common Law
In 1164- Henry issued the Constitutions of Claredon
which summarised the existing law and legal procedures
he introduced travelling royal judges and also made use of juries much more regular
new petty juries were increasingly used to decide on the guilt or innocence of the accused
Law enforcement after 1154
England was divided into 6 circuits that royal
judges travelled around to hear the legal cases
using the English Common Law
All courts now had their own prisons
(gaols) to hold prisoners before trial
The most serious criminal cases were dealt with by the
king's court (a new court in London) and not in the local
courts
To make sure powerful
sheriffs enforced the
king's law, writs (kings
instructions) were written
and sent
By the time of Henry 2nd there were
several systems of law operating in
England
Anglo- Saxon law operated at the local level
Norman law as exercised by barons in their manor courts
Royal law which tried to bring great equality or
fairness to the operation of the law
Church law which began to use punishment to achieve
repentance and rehabilitation or reform of the
individual
Changes and continuities
Change:
Government officials such as the county
coroner and the sheriff played a leading
role in investigating some crimes
Leading villagers were appointed constables to keep order
Not paid and continued their day jobs
Trial by ordeal was ended in 1215
Royal judges travelled around dealing with serious crimes
County courts held justices
of the peace who were
leading landowners
Wergilds were no longer used
In 1261, Justices of the peace (JP's) were introduced to each county
to help apply justice in the local community
continuities
Hue and cry and tithing still used
Juries still decided cases
Fines were still paid to the king
Crimes
Most crime was theft of money, food and belongings, usually of low value
Violent crimes were a small minority of cases
Local laws laid down by the Lord of the Manor
Gangs of outlaws were feared
Folville gang- typical outlaw who committed numerous crimes but never caught
Outlaws stole from anyone especially churches
Used violence and arson to threaten victims
Depending on who was king depended on
whether rich people got away with their crimes
Henry 5th was strict where as henry 6th was weak and influenced
Policing
Hue and cry was used
If villagers ignored this then the
whole village would be fined a
large sum
If hue and cry did not catch the criminal
Sheriff and his posse would have to take up the pursuit or to stop riots
Any male over 15 could be summoned to join the posse
Other government officials such as the county coroner (first
appointed by kings in 1190s) had to enquire into all unnatural
deaths with the help of the local jury
And sheriff played a leading role in investigating some crimes
Sheriffs job was to track down
and imprison criminals
Clear and standard
written instructions
(writs) were issued to
sheriffs and had to be
returned to show that
they had been carried
out
This process was overseen by the Court Exchequer and by
the Justiciar
A local jury swore on oath identifying the
person they thought had committed the
crime and the sheriff had to try and track
them down
In towns helped by the watch- citizens who kept watch for crime during
the night and handed over any suspected wrongdoers to the constable
in the morning
Punishments
To avoid punishment criminals tried to reach sanctuaries
(churches and cathedrals)
the county sherif could not take them by out by force
Careful religious ritual was followed if someone claimed sanctuary
Sanctuaries were safe areas in church and cathedrals
once a criminal reached sanctuary no one could take them out
When someone knocked on the sanctuary door- the bell was
tolled to let the townspeople know that someone had claimed
sanctuary
While the person was in the cathedral
they had to wear a black gown with a
yellow cross on the shoulder
lasted for 40 days during which time the
person had to decide whether to stand trial
or leave the country in exile
One the way to exile the person had
to carry a white cross, the mark of a
sanctuary man
As wergilds were no longer used and instead replaced by violent
methods of execution and mutilation
executions and other physical punishments were still
the most common punishments along with fines in the
manor courts
Executions took place in public to scare people and were
used not only for murder and other serious crimes but also for
minor offences such as stealing goods worth more than a
shilling
You could avoid the death penalty by:
claiming benefit of the clergy
Clergy could not be punished in the king's courts and the church courts
did not execute people
to prove they were a churchmen/clergyman they had to read the passage out loud from
the bible
'oh loving and kind god, have mercy. Have pity upon my transgressions'
This was known as the 'neck verse' because reading it saved the necks of many criminals
The theory behind this was that generally the only people who could read was churchmen
clever criminals learned the
verse by heart even if they could
not read
This option was only for men as
women could not become priests
did not get you off punishment altogether
The church preferred mutilation to execution as it wanted to give the convict a chance to repent
Most common way of avoiding execution as churchmen or priest could not
be punished in the king's courts
handed over to the local bishop for punishment
Join the army
Buy a pardon
Get pregnant
Become a king's approver (informer)
Person who had committed an offence could offer evidence against wrong doers in
return for a lighter sentence
The stocks and fines were also used as
punishments in manor courts
There were local prisons
but only for holding
prisoners awaiting trial