Types of Crime and Common Responses

Crime and Punishment – Later Middle Ages, c. 1250-1500

In this course, Dr Hannah Skoda (University of Oxford) explores crime and punishment in the later Middle Ages. In the first module, we look at the types of crime in this period and explore the common responses to it. We then turn to look at the general decline of violence and the various explanations that have been used to explain it. After this we explore the rise of the state and the expanding legal system that went with this. We then turn to look at the role of communities in the enforcement of the law in this period. In the final module, we look at the fundamental question of whether society in the later Middle Ages was inured to violence.

Types of Crime and Common Responses

In this module, we look at the types of crime in this period and explore the common responses to it. This was a period of high crime where crimes were split into two groups: (i) offences against royal authority; and (ii) trespass. Both types increasingly came under the control of the crown in this period.