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Medieval Europe. Knights, Crime & Punishment. Homework:. Read pages 166 – 167 and complete questions 1 – 3 ‘ Check your understanding’ Read pages 172 – 173 and complete questions 1 – 4 ‘ Check your understanding’. Knights:.
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Medieval Europe Knights, Crime & Punishment
Homework: • Read pages 166 – 167 and complete questions 1 – 3 ‘ Check your understanding’ • Read pages 172 – 173 and complete questions 1 – 4 ‘ Check your understanding’
Knights: • Knights were warriors on horseback, who fought for the king, their lord or whoever would pay for their services • By early 13 century only men of noble birth were admitted to knighthood and only after years of training in military skills, service to others and Christian teachings
Knights: three stages to Knighthood • Page – • At 7 years old he goes to live with a noble. • He waited tables, help the lord with his clothes and with dressing. • Learned to be polite, to serve God, to read and write and to ride and hunt for wild game. • Started to learn skills required by a Knight starting with target practice using a lance on a wooden horse drawn by two other pages.
Squire – • Became a Squire at 14 years old. • Was a servant to a Knight and learnt to look after armour, weaponry and horses, joined the Knight on the battle fields • Continued training his military and social skills and cultural pursuits • Had to learn the rules of Chivalry
Knight – • Became a Knight at about 21 years old • Expected to live according to the code of Chivalry • Serving lords as warriors • Overseeing land • Taking part in tournaments
Knight – A Chivalrous Knight was: • Loyal to the Catholic Church • Dedicated to helping those who were weak and easily exploited • Brave in battle • Willing to fight to protect women
Medieval Europe Crime and Punishment
The Medieval period was violent, and blood thirsty. During these times the cruel and pitiless torturers were made to inflict the horrors of torture on prisoners. Torture methods, devices and instruments were used to cause cruel physical and mental suffering. There were no laws or rules to protect the treatment of prisoners who faced torture. Torture was seen as a totally reasonable way to extract confessions, get the names of accomplices, and testimonies or confessions.
The Rack • The victim was tied across a board by his ankles and wrists. The rollers at either end of the board were turned, pulling the body in opposite directions. The victim’s body was stretched and their limbs would be dislocated. Prolonged use would end with limbs being torn from their sockets inducing excruciating pain.
Hung, Drawn & Quartered • The most terrible punishment of the Middle Ages was reserved for the most hated prisoners who had usually been convicted of treason (to overthrow the government or to harm or kill its sovereign). • William Wallace (circa. 1270 – 23 August 1305) now famous as 'Braveheart' was hung, drawn and quartered at Smithfield on 23 August 1305. His limbs were displayed, separately, in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Perth. • The prisoner is hanged till they were half dead, and then taken down, and then quartered alive; after that, their members and bowels are cut from their bodies, and thrown into a fire near by and in sight of the prisoner • The Quarters of the body were then hung in prescribed locations in the City of London as a deterrent to all English citizens.
Ducking Stool • The Ducking Stool was specifically used as a torture method for women. • It was used next to a river, the woman was strapped into the chair which hung from the end of a free-moving arm. The chair and woman would swing out over the river and they would dunk her into the freezing cold water. The length of time she spent under water was decided by the operator and the crime she was accused of. It could last for just a few seconds but in some circumstances this punishment process could be continuously repeated over the course of a day. • Used to punish prostitution and witchcraft as well as scolds. ‘Scold’ was a term given to a gossip, shrew or bad tempered woman. • Seen as a foolproof way to establish whether a suspect was a witch. Later changed to dunking without the chair, the victim's right thumb was bound to their left toe and a rope was tied to her waist and the 'witch' was thrown into a river or deep pond. If she floated she was guilty, if she sunk she was innocent.
Thumbscrews • The thumbscrew was a simple device designed to crush thumbs, but fingers or toes were also placed in the vice. This happened by slowly turning the screws which forced the toothed iron bars together. • They were useful to interrogators as they were a portable means of torture and not restricted to the confines of the torture chamber. • You would die from the use of this tool, but it created unendurable agony.
Burned at the Stake • The punishment by fire was always inflicted in cases of heresy (opinion against the church or religion), or blasphemy (an act of cursing or reviling God). • Create a pile of dry wood with a stake at the center to tie the victim to, and then light it. It usually took about a half an hour before the victim lost consciousness, but if it was windy and the fire was blowing away from the victim, he or she might have to endure up to two hours of being slowly burned to death. • This practice didn't die out at the end of the Middle Ages, however. Both women and men accused of witchcraft were burned at the stake in England, France and other locales well into the 17th century.
