Enforcing law and order including policing and different types of court (OCR GCSE History A (Explaining the Modern World)): Revision Notes

Enforcing law and order including policing and different types of court

Enforcing law and order

THE TITHING

This was a group of men over the age of twelve. They each took responsibility for the actions of the other members. If one of them broke the law, the other group members would have to make him come to court or pay a fine.

Both the hue and cry and the tithing show how law enforcement was conducted in the local community, in an age long before a proper police force existed.

THE HUE AND CRY

A victim of or a witness to a crime would raise the hue and cry by shouting. Everyone in the village was expected to help and join the search to catch the criminal. If a person did not join, the whole village would be liable for a fine.

Illustration of villagers chasing a thief, after the hue and cry has been raised.

JURIES

Before the 16th century, juries were made up of men from the local area who knew both the victim and the accused.

The accused would swear an oath, known as compurgation, to say they were innocent. Over time, it became common for the accused to bring 11 people with them who would also swear the oath and vouch for the accused's innocence. It is thought that this is where the modern system of 12 people sitting on a jury comes from.

The verdict was, therefore, very dependent on people's knowledge of and opinions towards the victim and the accused. Witnesses to the crime might also be allowed to give evidence.

An illustration of a mediaeval jury And capital punishment

MANORIAL, CHURCH AND ROYAL COURTS

The Norman conquest did not change much of the way people in England enforced law and order. People within communities still did policing. The changing features lies on the amount of power these people or officials possessed. Most of the mediaeval period, keeping peace and order in shires or counties were maintained by a shire reeve (sheriff).

The hue and cry would be directed by the parish constable, a role created by Edward I in 1285. This was a man in the parish (a local area centred around a church) who volunteered to do the job and who had the confidence of his neighbours. The role was unpaid but carried respect.

Another responsibility of the parish constable was to report all unnatural deaths to the coroner, which was a requirement after 1190. If a person had been murdered, the coroner had to inform another official, the sheriff, of the county.

A miniature showing a mediaeval king holding a sword and a charter

Two forms of trial

The sheriff would take over the responsibility for catching a criminal who had committed a serious crime if they had not been found by the hue and cry. The sheriff would organise a posse of men who would be summoned from the local area to find the criminal. If caught, the murderer would be held in prison before being brought by his tithing to be put on trial.

For the most serious crimes, these trials would take place in front of royal judges, appointed by the king and sitting in the royal court. There would be scribes in these courts whose job it was to write down the proceedings. There would also be a jury whose job it was to reach a verdict of innocence or guilt. They would be from the local area and would listen to evidence from any eyewitnesses and people who could give information about the character of the accused.

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Common methods of Trial by ordeal

Trial by hot iron

Typically used on women, the accused would pick up a very hot weight. After three days, the hand that was bandaged would be unwrap to see if the wounds had healed. If festering, she'd be declared guilty.

Trial by hot water

Typically used on men, the accused would pick up an object submerged in boiling water. After three days, the hand that was bandaged would be unwrap to see if the wounds had healed. If festering, he'd be declared guilty.

Trial by cold water

The accused would be tied and lowered into extremely cold water (usually a river). If the accused sank s/he was declared innocent and, if s/he floated, a guilty verdict would be issued.