Crime And Punishment In Medieval Times

In the medieval times, there was a different way of penalizing someone when they did wrong in the eyes of the law or religious guidelines. Many different groups of people (Islamic, Buddhists, Babylonians, etc.) have had different views on how a person should be punished, such as how severe the punishment is in accordance to the breaking of the rules. Some works that have been read this semester that exhibit the views of a group of people on punishment would include: The Code of Hammurabi, Confucious, The Book of Leviticus, the Qu ‘ran, Hrafenkel, the Declaration of the rights of man, and the English Bill of Rights.

The Code of Hammurabi states the code of laws for the Babylonians in 1780 B.C. Of the almost 100 laws looked at in class, about ¼ of them end in physical punishment (if not death) of a sort. Most of the acting punishments that don’t require a payment involve someone being pushed into the water or just being sentenced to death while other punishments that just inflict pain could be anything from an eye being taken out or even one’s bone being broken. This common theme of punishment can be clearly seen in this excerpt, which exhibits what today’s

society might call “cruel and unusual punishment”. In other works such as the Qu ‘ran or the Book of Leviticus in order to repent for one’s sins they must give an offering to the God(s) or they need to ask for God’s forgiveness in some way that is specific to that sin. Specific to the Book of Leviticus, sinners must place an offering to the Gods to ask for forgiveness such as burning oats and grain or even a whole cow. These two readings greatly differ from The Code of Hammurabi in the sense that punishments in Babylonian’s eyes should be violent almost as if to make an example out of the offenders whereas the Qu ‘ran and the Book of Leviticus have more peaceful punishments that involve appealing to the God(s) for forgiveness.
Upon looking at sexual and marital cases from medieval times, one can see actual cases and punishments that were sentenced for different crimes. For example, one of the cases was about incest (father to step-daughter). It was decided by the court that John (offender) must fast every fourth and sixth week on bread and water as long as he lived. This decision is something that one would not see in modern day society. This man was also to never contact Alice (plaintiff) again or her mother. With the language seen in the case it is clear that the offense happened in a time where the church was a prominent factor in society. Knowing this, it helps to understand what kind of punishment was considered equal to a crime. It is also important to know the context behind the laws for punishment so that one can better understand the why behind the laws.
These punishments are based upon a system put in place of what a certain society thinks the rights of man are.

In the Declaration of the Rights of Man from France, it gives a clear outline of what these people think that every person’s rights are. This is something that is not as clearly defined in other readings that have been approached but is equally as important because if one does not clearly know what is just and right by definition then who is to say they know what equal punishment is for such a crime. The English Bill of Rights is another document that clearly outlines the rights of the people as subjects to one ruler. It is important to look at different time periods and different regions throughout the world to get a better understanding of the background of the laws that can be seen

today.
The story of Hrafnkel is a good example of bringing the background of a law together with the punishment. In this story, there is a horse named Freyfaxi that Hrafenkel has and cherishes. He declares that anyone to ride his horse without his permission will be killed by him. One day a young boy that works for him decides that riding the horse to gather the runaway sheep is better than letting the sheep go. Once Hrafnkel finds out he gets vengeful and also sad since he now has to kill a boy whom he knows personally. The source of this punishment is derived from Hrafnkels love for the horse and is carried out once he finds out about the boy riding the horse.
As can be seen through different readings from varying time periods and places, there are many different types of punishments that were considered righteous. One can see the different types of punishment by looking at documents that lay out the laws such as the Code of Hammurabi or a religious work such as the Qu ‘ran or even a real case from medieval times. But in order to truly understand why these laws were put in place one must look at the background, specifically what a group of people believes that their rights are. Some groups across the ages have outlined what they thought the basic human rights were as can be seen in the English Bill of Rights or even in a story like Hrafnkel. History can be taken as a guide for the future unless the choice is made to ignore it.