Punishment In The Middle Ages

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From the beginning of time mankind have committed crime. Medieval Europe was rife with crime and the punishments were harsh. Throughout the Medieval period attitudes to crime and punishment changed. From 500AD-1500AD in Europe the way punishments were decided and carried out had developed from a sense of fear and crowd pleasing into a structured legal system. Many common crimes from the early Medieval period, known as the Dark Ages, included adultery, intentional murder, robbery and kidnapping. People were even punished harshly for trivial crimes such as stealing a loaf of bread. . This was considered a serious offence in this time period. These crimes were mainly executed people who had no job. So they resorted to these crimes to get a pay. In contrast the medieval times we in modern ages commit different crimes than the medieval ages. These crimes include drug related offences, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, assault on another person or animal, vandalism to public or private areas , domestic violence and weapon violation by having illegal weapons . Trivial offences committed today often get a warning or go unreported unlike the medieval times. Generally the punishments during this period were extremely cruel and barbaric …show more content…

However there are some countries around the globe that still take part in these medieval, horrific punishments. In Iran, if you commit murder, kidnap or rape you will be hanged publicly to show what happens when you do the wrong thing. . Thankfully due to the effect of the medieval period on our lives this is a rare practice and that mankind has developed in their treatment of crime and punishment. As in Australia the death penalty is abolished and the penalty of freedom has taken its place as if you commit murder, kidnap or rape you will be confined to a small space for a long period of time therefore keeping the modern society

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