Crime and Punishment in Medieval Europe

Adapted from Prezi By Angelica Panopoulos.

Today you will be learning about the instruments of torture in medieval Europe.

Witchcraft: (death) Being burned at the stake was the most common punishment. (torture) The accused were left naked, arms and legs spread out and left in the sun for days. This resulted in bad sunburn which meant that whenever they moved excruciating pain would be caused.

Vagrancy: (A vagrant person was usually someone poor who wandered around place to place without a home or regular work) The punishment for this in the 1530's was getting whipped, and in the 1540's you would be hung.

1. Thumbscrews: An instrument of torture used to crush the thumb

2. Branding irons: A long metal rod that had a letter on one side and a wooden handle on the other. The irons would be heated up and then the side of the rod with the letter would be pressed into the victim's skin.

3. Water torture: This horrible method of torture still exists today. One method in the Medieval Times consisted of forcing the victim to drink water and then jumping on their stomach, making the water rise and the victim choke.

4. Brank: This method of torture was used to humiliate gossipy women. A metal cage would be worn around their head and sometimes different adornments would be added to humiliate her even further. This was also called the Scolds Bridle.

5. Ducking stools: The victim was tied to a chair and ducked into a pond or a pool of water. This method of torture was specifically designed for women. Witches would often by punished this way. Later on, the 'ducking' was inflicted without a chair. This meant that the victim had her right thumb bound to her left toe, a rope was then attached to her waist and she was thrown into the water. If she floated, then she was guilty and if she drowned, she was innocent.

1. Ripping out teeth and nails.

2. Beating.

3. Blinding.

4. Boiling.

5. Bone breaking.

6. Limb/finger removal.

7. Whipping.

8. Starvation.

9. Roasting.

10. Dislocation.

Methods of torture differentiate from instruments of torture in this way: the methods are more like the result, whereas the instrument is (as its name suggests) the equipment used to obtain those end results.

Remember, never try this at home kids! :)

Five instruments of Torture

Ten Methods of Torture

Crimes and their Punishments

This is a medieval picture of Joan of Arc being burnt at the stake

Changes in crime and punishment over time

The most common types of crime in Europe between 1300 and 1348

A person being put in the stocks as punishment

An indictment (prosecution roll showing accusations made in 1601

Translated text

What was crime and punishment like in the Middle Ages?

• Brutal time for criminals/suspected criminals
• People were punished for minor offences and sometimes without fair trial (when they were innocent)
• Torture was an acceptable means of punishment and extracting information
• There were dungeons/torture chambers in almost all castles

Law Enforcement

• Feudal lords had their own courts and were expected to take responsibility for their own community
• When a crime was committed, the vistim would raise a 'hue and a cry' (cry out for help), and the community was responsible for chasing and catching the criminal
• If the community to not make an effort to catch the criminal, the entire community was held responsible for the crime.

A medieval dungeon

Crime and Punishment in Medieval Europe

WARNING: This stuff gets pretty gross!