Crime And Punishment
During the medieval times the laws and discipline were set by the kings and nobles. The nobles and king made them incredibly strict, so people would follow them. During the medieval time, the king and nobles thought that the only way to stop people from committing such crimes was to make them scared of the punishment. All crimes from robbery to manslaughter involved severe punishments.
Trial By Ordeal
A medieval court was called a ordeal were all people who committed crime or people they suspected committed crimes would go to determine if they were guilty or not. They used to decide weather they were guilty or not by doing a “test” on them. Some of these tests included:
Ordeal By Water
In this test the man who was being “tested” would have their hands and feet tied together, and then thrown into some water. If the man sank, he would not be guilty however if he floated he would be guilty.
Ordeal By Fire
In this test he would have to hold a burning hot iron bar while walking a couple of steps or put his hand in boiling hot water to reach a stone. After he would have his hand or any other body part used bandaged for three days. If the burn had healed over the three days, the man was not guilty yet if the burn had no improvement he would be considered guilty.
Ordeal By Combat
With this test they would get a noble and the man held for questioning. If the man won, he is not guilty but if he lost he would be guilty. These fights or battles would usually end in death.
Punishment
The punishments during the medieval times as I said before were really harsh. For stealing a simple loaf of bread to eat, or not working hard enough. it would lead into something as harsh as someone cutting off your ear or hand. Many other punishments like murder would certainty lead into death by hanging, beheading, stretching and many other gruesome tortures. However if the kind / lord liked one man his sentence would only be banishment rather than death.
During the medieval times the laws and discipline were set by the kings and nobles. The nobles and king made them incredibly strict, so people would follow them. During the medieval time, the king and nobles thought that the only way to stop people from committing such crimes was to make them scared of the punishment. All crimes from robbery to manslaughter involved severe punishments.
Trial By Ordeal
A medieval court was called a ordeal were all people who committed crime or people they suspected committed crimes would go to determine if they were guilty or not. They used to decide weather they were guilty or not by doing a “test” on them. Some of these tests included:
Ordeal By Water
In this test the man who was being “tested” would have their hands and feet tied together, and then thrown into some water. If the man sank, he would not be guilty however if he floated he would be guilty.
Ordeal By Fire
In this test he would have to hold a burning hot iron bar while walking a couple of steps or put his hand in boiling hot water to reach a stone. After he would have his hand or any other body part used bandaged for three days. If the burn had healed over the three days, the man was not guilty yet if the burn had no improvement he would be considered guilty.
Ordeal By Combat
With this test they would get a noble and the man held for questioning. If the man won, he is not guilty but if he lost he would be guilty. These fights or battles would usually end in death.
Punishment
The punishments during the medieval times as I said before were really harsh. For stealing a simple loaf of bread to eat, or not working hard enough. it would lead into something as harsh as someone cutting off your ear or hand. Many other punishments like murder would certainty lead into death by hanging, beheading, stretching and many other gruesome tortures. However if the kind / lord liked one man his sentence would only be banishment rather than death.