Punishment In The Renaissance Era

The Renaissance time period was a very unique era that has influenced our world greatly today. However, some things were not passed down and have yet to be passed down to today’s society from that unique time period. The punishments used in the Renaissance are one thing that fits on both sides of the plane. The types of punishments that were used have changed drastically since the Renaissance. The punishments used were very harsh but also very creative.

The techniques used when prosecuting a criminal in the Renaissance time period were much different than the ones used today. The investigations that were held were made judicially to get the best results (Brackett). This has influenced the way we perform investigations today. If they found

someone guilty of a crime, that criminal was sentenced to jail time if they were not first sentenced to death. The upkeep of the jail cells made it even worse for the criminals due to the lack of support towards the prisons from the government (Brackett).

There were some procedures, however, that did not carry on from the Renaissance era.

Torture was used quite often to get essential information if the criminal was not willing to confess (Brackett). This is one technique that is rarely used or no longer used in today’s society. Another technique that was used in the renaissance era was that if one family member was guilty of a crime, the family of that criminal would get punished along with the criminal (Muir). There was also an option for the plaintiff of a court case to pay court costs and reverse the charge on to the claimant if the claimant could not prove his or her case (Brackett). These procedures are obviously not used anymore in today’s society.

There were many different types of weird and absurd punishments used in the Renaissance. Most of these punishments targeted the body of the victim while most punishments used today are aimed to get into the criminal's mind. One of the most common punishments used was flogging. A flog consisted of leather thongs attached to a handle, used almost just like a whip. Victims of flogging were often punished in public too

(Schrader).

Another very common punishment was branding.

When a criminal was branded, a mark was burnt into their skin used more for an identification mark rather than a punishment (Schrader). Capital punishments were often used in the Renaissance era. The most common of these punishments was hanging. When a criminal was receiving a punishment, they were often stripped of their clothing to show shame to the public (Schrader).

During the Renaissance, different crimes brought on different punishments. A lot of punishments given were in someway related to the crime committed. For example, if someone was guilty of theft, they would have their finger or hand cut off (Schrader). The court during the Renaissance had a system to determine whether or not your crime was honorable or dishonorable. If your crime was considered honorable, your punishment was less painful and was done faster than someone who was deemed dishonorable which meant their punishment was more painful and lasted longer

(Schrader).

There are a few examples of different crimes that result in certain punishments. If someone were to kill their wife or was guilty of robbery, they were sentenced to breaking at the wheel, one of the most painful punishments of the Renaissance era. If a woman were to violate her sexual morals, they were sentenced to drowning or being buried alive. If someone was called a traitor or guilty of regicide, they were sentenced to draw and quartered (Schrader). All of these crimes have punishments that directly correlate to them.

Punishments during the Renaissance time period may seem too extreme to some people, but that was what was normal back then. They had a different way of solving crimes than society does today. Like I said before, the punishments that were given were drastically different than the ones given today because of the way that the punishments were used. The crimes committed had more direct punishments correlated to them during that time period. The Renaissance was its own era in which things were done very differently than they are now.