What Crimes Did They Do?

In the ‘Middle Ages’, crimes no matter how big or small were always an offence to the king. Crimes were categorised into groups of who is offended. There were crimes against the king and crimes against God. The crimes against God were exceptionally bad because the peasants were living in fear of God and offending him because of the horror of hell. The king took crimes against him in a serious matter and could result in a public hanging ceremony.

Crimes against God included lying or blasphemy and sorcery or heresy. Because people were more religious in the ‘Middle Ages’, the Catholic Church was very strict about following and worshiping God, therefore if you had another religion or you were against God, you would be guilty of heresy, which was a deadly sin. If you lied about something that you did, you would be accused of one, lying to your friends, and two, lying to God, hence, you would be told that you were going straight to hell.

Crimes against the king involved plotting to kill him, plotting to overthrow him or assaulting his royal officials.  Even though every assault or crime disturbed the king’s peace, some crimes were specifically directed at him. Plotting to overthrow or kill the king was normally organised in groups so you had a bigger chance of undertaking the crime. Peasants, who mostly committed this crime, would sneak around in the king’s roof, then find an entry and try to kill him. Assaulting the king’s royal officials was also another offence. If you assaulted the king’s officials you were questioning the king’s power and also the stability of the monarchy.

Assault between peasants included debt, theft and public drunkenness. Peasants could be in debt to the church or their lord. They would have to pay tax to the church called a tithe, which was 10% of what the peasant had farmed. Even though 10% is not a lot, it could break a peasant family. They also had to pay taxes to the lord for the rent of their land. There were two different ways of paying tax in the medieval period. You could pay in cash or in kind, which was in the peasants crops, farming or equipment. You could be accused of a thief the Middle Ages, for doing something as simple as stealing a vegetable or a coin. Nowadays, you could easily get away with stealing a vegetable or a coin. Public drunkenness was also an assault and resulted in communal humiliation. If you were caught drunk outside and accusing other peasants, you would be put on the stocks, and rotten food and harsh words would be thrown at you.