1. What is happening in this picture?
What can this image tell us about Anglo-Saxon ideas about law and order?
The picture shows a trial called ‘ordeal by hot water’ – the accused plunges their hand into boiling water, three days later their wound is inspected. If it is healed or healing then they are proclaimed innocent. If the wound is not showing signs of healing, or has turned bad then they are guilty. It is really important throughout the course of this lesson that students understand that trial by ordeal is a TRIAL, not a PUNISHMENT. The idea is that God decides guilt. All forms of trial of ordeal were carried out and assessed by priests.

2. The Big Picture
Key Vocabulary
Deterrent
Retribution
Revenge
Attitudes
Continuity
Change
How did attitudes towards Crime and Punishment change c50AD-c1350?
Identify key events and people that influenced the way these attitudes changed over the time period
The big picture indicated where students are heading over the course of this unit. Share information, but there is no need to write this in books (although a print out could be stuck in for reference). Students will see this slide at the beginning of every lesson to remind them of the overall outcomes for this unit.
Describe attitudes towards crime, punishment and law enforcement in the period 50AD-1350 .
Assess to what extent there was change or continuity to attitudes at this time

3. Today’s Lesson Law and order in Anglo-Saxon Britain Key Vocabulary
Trial by ordeal
Tithing
Hundreds
Hue and Cry
King’s Peace
Blood Feud
Wergeld
Botgeld
Shire
Law and order in Anglo-Saxon
Britain
Describe the different types of trial, and identify crimes and their relevant punishments during this period
Today’s lesson title and objectives. Needs to be recorded by students.
Understand the importance of the roles of God and the Family in Anglo-Saxon attitudes to Law. .
Evaluate elements of change and continuity from the Roman period

4. Recap: The Romans! Can you:
Recall the features of a patriarchal and hierarchical society?
Explain why these two social ideas had an impact on attitudes towards crime and punishment (including examples?)
Identify who was responsible for law enforcement in Roman Britain?
Describe the kind of crimes which were committed and how they were punished?

5. The Romans leave!!!
Nothing lasts forever – and when the Roman’s left Britain at the beginning of the 5th Century (410AD), their unified system of law and order collapsed too.
It would be another 500 years (after the Norman conquest in 1066) before Britain had another settled and uniformed system!
In between that, Britain was invaded time and time again. In the South Angles, Saxons and Jutes established the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms – all of which had their own basic and much more small scale systems of law and order.
In the North the Danes and Vikings made their own laws!
But by the 10th century, as England was once again close to becoming a single kingdom – it was the King (Anglo-Saxon) who was responsible for making laws.

6. Two key differences between the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons:
Roman society was firmly structured on the beliefs in hierarchy and patriarchy, both of which played a huge part in attitudes to crime and punishment in Roman law and order. However, these values had little importance to the Anglo-Saxons. Instead, their attitudes to law and order were based on TWO very different concepts:
THE CHURCH
THE FAMILY

7. Who was responsible for enforcing law in Anglo-Saxon Britain?
Spend 2 minutes refreshing your memory about who was responsible for enforcing law in Roman Britain
Unlike the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons did not have a large Army. This means there was nobody to oversee day to day law enforcement in villages and towns.
Who do you think is going to be responsible for enforcing the law?

8. Who was responsible for enforcing law in Anglo-Saxon Britain?
Anglo-Saxon law enforcement had one key underlying principle. The idea of “Collective Responsibility”. This means that the people were collectively responsible for making sure that day to day law enforcement was upheld in towns and villages.
This is most evident in two areas. Use pages 18 and 19 (60-61 in the older text) to add a detailed description to the diagram below:
COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY
TITHINGS
HUE AND CRY

9. Who was responsible for enforcing law in Anglo-Saxon Britain?
As the Anglo-Saxons established their control in Britain, the power of the King became more important.
He was in overall charge of the law, and made important decision about what was and wasn’t a crime, and how these crimes should be punished.
This is known as the ‘King’s peace’.
The idea behind it was that laws would make people feel safe – particularly as this was an uncertain time in England with the threat of further invasions.
Towards the end of the Anglo-Saxon period, some Kings even drew up codes of law! (Just like we saw with the Roman 12 tablets – also called the Institutes of Justinian).
Probably the most significant of these was put together by King Alfred of Wessex in the 9th century.
But overall, Anglo-Saxon law and order was never as organised as the Romans – most of it was unwritten and based on custom.

10. Who was responsible for enforcing law in Anglo-Saxon Britain?
England was split into Shires (like the modern day system of counties) .
Each shire had a Sheriff, who was responsible for enforcing law and order in that area – although the effectiveness of the Sheriff was somewhat limited!
Each shire also had a court (The Shire Court) which met twice a year to deal with the more serious cases.
England also had a system of ‘hundreds’ – literally made up of 100 peasant farms. It is within these hundreds that Tithings were established.

11. The importance of family:
Compared to the Romans, the EARLY Anglo-Saxons saw the family as a hugely important factor, and this is evident in their attitudes towards crime and punishment.
This is most evident in a policy that the Saxons referred to as the ‘Blood Feud’. Copy this short definition of blood feud into your book:
With no Army or police force to enforce the law, it was the responsibility of the victims to punish the wrongdoer themselves. This meant the victims family had the right to take revenge on the person who had done them harm, including the right to kill the accused, or a member of their family! This kind of justice is often referred to as ‘an eye for an eye’. This method often led to long running family feuds and violence – hence its name ‘Blood Feud’!

12. The importance of family:
In an effort to reduce the violence caused by the blood feud, later Anglo-Saxon Kings introduced a system of ‘compensation’ instead.
The idea is that instead of using violence to seek revenge, revenge was had in the form of a fine (a harsh punishment when people were generally poor).
There were two types of compensation:
Wergeld – this was paid if someone was murdered.
Botgeld – this was payable for injuries

13. The importance of the Church:
The problem of ‘blood feud’: It was clear to the LATER Anglo-Saxons that the blood feud was problematic! It often promoted additional and unnecessary violence, and apart from anything else it was almost impossible to get real justice – sometimes people made up accusations simply to take out revenge on families they didn’t like!
So the later Anglo-Saxons turned to an alternative idea. That GOD should decide guilt!
To begin with – a criminal would attend a local court with a jury (known as trial by the community/jury). If the jury could not reach a decision, as was often the case (it was difficult in small towns and villages to find a jury that didn’t know the accused and would be prepared to find them guilty openly!), then God would decide through a process of ‘Trial by Ordeal’.

14. The importance of the Church: TRIAL BY ORDEAL
Where a jury could not establish guilt, or there was not enough evidence to reach a verdict, the church intervened and asked God to decide!
The Saxons used FOUR types of trial by ordeal.
These were:
Ordeal by hot water
Ordeal by cold water
Ordeal by fire
Ordeal by sacrament (trial by consecrated bread)
Watch this short video clip about trial by ordeal. Use this, and your text book (page 21 or 63 in the older text) to write a description of each form of ordeal (including where applicable WHO could be tried by this method)
Use textbook first for this task

15. Avoid the pitfalls!
 Trial by ordeal is a TRIAL (the clue is in the name!) this means it is a way of establishing guilt and enforcing the law! NOT a punishment! The punishment came later if found guilty!
 Whilst the concept of Trial by cold water is exactly the same as that used during the 17th Century Witchcraft craze, don’t get these two time periods confused!

16. Continuity from the Romans: What kind of crimes did people commit in Anglo-Saxon Britain?
Just like the Romans, the Anglo-Saxon system of law and order classified crimes in two ways:
Divide half a page into two columns; or create 2 mind map headings. Use the 2 boxes above as your headings.
Use page (page 58 in the older text) to divide the crimes committed in Anglo-Saxon Britain into these two headings.
You have 5 minutes!
MINOR CRIMES
MAJOR CRIMES

17. How were these crimes punished?
Now, using page (page 59 in the older text) – match the punishments used to the crimes you have added in your columns/mind maps.
Do this in a different colour, then add a key to show which are the crimes and which are the punishments.
Cutting off of hands or feet
Stealing
Execution
MAJOR CRIMES
Murder
Slander
Key:
CRIMES
PUNISHMENT

18. The BIG Conclusion:
To what extent were Roman and Anglo-Saxon ideas about law and order similar?
This is NOT an exam question! But is designed to make you think about the exam skill of identifying CHANGE and CONTINUITY.
Include examples of:
Attitudes to crime and punishment
The nature of society
Law enforcement – including establishing guilt.
CHANGE
CONTINUITY