This week in 3V we have been continuing our investigation into Crime and Punishment through the ages, focusing on Anglo-Saxon justice. The Anglo-Saxon period followed Roman rule in Britain, and spanned around 600 years from 410CE to 1066. During that time, some aspects of the Roman legal system remained - such as jury trials - while some new rules and procedures were introduced.
Since there were no police in Anglo-Saxon times, responsibility for crime prevention was placed squarely on local communities. The tithing was a group of ten people who each responsible for ensuring the other nine obeyed the law! Everyone had to be a member of a tithing. If a crime was committed, the community was raise a 'hue and cry' to ensure that the miscreant was brought to justice.
Justice took many forms in Anglo-Saxon times. If a person was injured, the person responsible had to pay them compensation. The amount payable depended on who the injured person was, and what injuries they had. The rates payable were set out in special rules called the Wergild. Interestingly, this concept is still used by the Courts today when calculating compensation in injury cases!
To put our learning into action, the children worked together in groups to find out how much compensation would be due in different circumstances - for example, a broken tooth would attract compensation of just 1 shilling, while a blinded eye would result in a payment of 50 shillings to the victim.
We then had a look at some of the more brutal ways in which the Anglo-Saxons delivered justice. A minor criminal might find themselves in the stocks, or whipped in public. For more serious crimes, the Anglo-Saxon criminal might face being branded (burnt with a special mark, which would leave a scar), having a hand amputated (no anaesthetic in those days!) or even being executed by hanging!
Anglo-Saxons also determined whether someone was guilty by holding a trial by ordeal - essentially leaving the outcome of the trial in the hands of God.
Once the children had enjoyed a whistle-stop tour of Anglo-Saxon justice, it was time to put their ideas into action. The class was separated into three groups: Modern Britons, Anglo-Saxons and a Jury. The Judge (Mrs V) read out the details of some cases - from a murder to a suspected witch to a naughty child misbehaving in the marketplace - and the Modern Brits and Anglo-Saxons debated what should happen to the guilty party. The Jury then had to decide which punishment was the best fit for the crime.
Our Class Jury turned out to be most unsympathetic to the defendants in each case, and tended to recommend the most brutal Anglo-Saxon outcomes...!
Finally, we reflected on the similarities and differences between the Anglo-Saxon justice system and its Roman predecessor.
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