What Punishments Did They Receive?

There were many different punishments that people in the middle ages could receive. People in the middle ages were generally not kept in prisons as a punishment. Prisons were used to hold the accused until their trial. Only people who owed large amounts stayed in prison after their trial until their families could pay off their debts.

There were many different types of prisons, an oubliette prison was a narrow, tube-shaped prison, and it had no windows. The only way to enter an oubliette was through a trapdoor at the top; prisoners were lowered down on a rope and left the rot, water could also seep in the bottom and they would drown. A bottle dungeon was an underground prison in the shape of a bottle, a tall stone tower was another prison, and both of these prisons were made so that prisoners couldn't escape. A ‘little ease’ was a tiny room where prisoners could not move or do anything comfortably because the room was so small.

To force prisoners to confess to crimes jailers tortured the prisoners. Some common tortures were red-hot irons, which burned them; the rack, which stretched the prisoners and made their joints pop out; the boots, which crushed prisoner’s legs; and the thumbscrews, which squeezed prisoner’s fingers until their fingernails fell off.

Thieves were generally locked in a pillory which was a device where the hands and heads of the prisoners were trapped while the public threw garbage at them; they could also be put in the stocks, where their legs were trapped in a device and people could pelt them with mud and rotten food.

Women believed to be witches were tied to a ducking stool and dipped into the river. A gossiping woman could have a scold’s bridle put on them for a specified amount of time. A person that was guilty of selling rotten food could be forced to eat them in public. People guilty of treason could be hung, drawn and quartered or they could be beheaded. These are just a few of the punishments that people in the Middle Ages could receive. 

There were many different punishments that people in the middle ages could receive. People in the middle ages were generally not kept in prisons as a punishment. Prisons were used to hold the accused until their trial. Only people who owed large amounts stayed in prison after their trial until their families could pay off their debts.

There were many different types of prisons, an oubliette prison was a narrow, tube-shaped prison, and it had no windows. The only way to enter an oubliette was through a trapdoor at the top; prisoners were lowered down on a rope and left the rot, water could also seep in the bottom and they would drown. A bottle dungeon was an underground prison in the shape of a bottle, a tall stone tower was another prison, and both of these prisons were made so that prisoners couldn't escape. A ‘little ease’ was a tiny room where prisoners could not move or do anything comfortably because the room was so small.

To force prisoners to confess to crimes jailers tortured the prisoners. Some common tortures were red-hot irons, which burned them; the rack, which stretched the prisoners and made their joints pop out; the boots, which crushed prisoner’s legs; and the thumbscrews, which squeezed prisoner’s fingers until their fingernails fell off.

Thieves were generally locked in a pillory which was a device where the hands and heads of the prisoners were trapped while the public threw garbage at them; they could also be put in the stocks, where their legs were trapped in a device and people could pelt them with mud and rotten food.

Women believed to be witches were tied to a ducking stool and dipped into the river. A gossiping woman could have a scold’s bridle put on them for a specified amount of time. A person that was guilty of selling rotten food could be forced to eat them in public. People guilty of treason could be hung, drawn and quartered or they could be beheaded. These are just a few of the punishments that people in the Middle Ages could receive.