Year 5 Curriculum Learning

Tuesday 7th July 2020 The Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings.

Angles and Saxons started invading Britain in the 5th century AD. Vikings started invading in the 8th century AD. Angles and Saxons (yellow) came from what is now Germany (green). Vikings were mainly from Norway (red) and Sweden (orange). After the Romans left Britain, the Anglo-Saxons and then the Vikings attacked. They had not been ruled by the Romans and so had their own ways of dealing with crime.

Instead of punishment, most crimes demanded that the criminal pay the injured party compensation, known as weregild. ‘Gild’ meant gold. The amount of compensation a person got depended on their standing in society Weregild

✤The standard rate of weregild for killing a man was 200 shillings

✤This was multiplied if a nobleman was killed, generally 1200 shillings were paid to his family

✤It was 30,000 for killing a king, half for the family and half for the country

✤The amount varied for women, in some places it was double, in others, half that of men There were no police but villages were divided into ten households called tithings who made sure that wrongdoers were brought to justice. People accused of a crime were brought to court. There were no lawyers but a jury would swear an oath of guilt or innocence

A criminal could be outlawed for a crime. This meant that they were outside the law and anyone could harm or kill them without redress. Only the most serious crimes earned a death penalty If there were no witnesses to a crime, or witnesses disagreed, the accused could have a trial by ordeal. This involved subjecting the accused to a dangerous or painful death. The theory was that God would perform a miracle and save them if they were innocent.

One trial by ordeal that was often used was to walk over hot coals or ploughshares. Another popular trial was trial by boiling water. The accused would have to put their hand in boiling water to pick up a stone. The hand was then bound. After three days, if the hand had healed, they were declared innocent. Trial by water also included submerging someone in a river or stream. If they drowned, they were considered guilty but if they survived, they were innocent.

If two people had a dispute, they could prove who was right in a trial by combat. This was like a duel. The winner was declared innocent. Task:

Imagine you are a judge at an Anglo-Saxon trial.

Read the details of the cases and decide whether the person is innocent or guilty.

If they're guilty, decide on a punishment.

Use what you have already learnt and the information on the next slide to help you.

We would love to see your learning so remember to send it to: [email protected] Anglo-Saxon and Viking Crime and Punishment Information

What crimes were there? • Theft was 74% of all crime • Murder was about 18% • Arson, counterfeiting coins, treason and all others: 8% How were crimes detected? The king appointed a shire-reeve (sheriff), who appointed a hundredman, who then appointed a tithingman. All these men had the responsibility of keeping the peace and bringing criminals to justice. They also all held criminal courts. What happened at a trial? At a Saxon trial there were no lawyers and a jury would decide guilt or innocence. Witnesses could be brought forward to decide whether a person was guilty or innocent. Trial by ordeal happened when no witnesses could be found. Trial by fire could include having to walk over red-hot ploughshares. Trial by water was to get a stone from a boiling pot. In all these trials, if the accused was unharmed, God had performed a miracle and they were innocent. What punishments were there? Different amounts of compensation could be paid to the victim or victim's family for the loss of a person, an injury or theft. In Kent in AD 603, the following weregild applied: • Broken tooth – 1 shilling • Broken nose – 6 shillings • Lost finger – 10 shillings • Lost thumb – 20 shillings • Lost foot – 50 shillings If the crime was very serious a person could be outlawed. This meant they could be killed without any punishment. Punishment by death was very rare, but did happen for treason and murder.