Crime and punishment in Elizabethan England

Every rascal is not a pillager, but totally thief is a rascal. --Aristotle Besides the f pinnule of marge by the plague, in that respect was nothing that threatened the volume of Elizabethan England as more than as abhorrence. offensive activity was a very frequent hap especially in Englands working capital, capital of the United Kingdom. Its citizens were victims of many antithetical crimes ranging from petty thievery to murder. The penalizations for these crimes be considered harsh by todays standards but because of the high crime rates, they were necessary. capital of the United Kingdoms streets were restless with excite manpowert, but where the rich shopped and socialized there were unendingly viles strikey to pounce. Most of the crimes were perpetrate by un hireed shepherds crook good deal called rogues. These people were concentrated in certain areas and were ordinarily up to no good. Two very common types of thieves on the streets were pickpockets a nd neckpurses. Pickpockets slyly grabbed purses and watches from their victims; they, accordingly, ran from the scene of the crime. Cutpurses carried knives and ran by women, slashing the straps on their purses and assembly whatever fell out. When a venomous was caught, he was brought in the first place a judge to be tried. In Elizabethan England, judge had an immense amount of power. They could sentence the acc employ to death, deformation or seclusion but if the impeach criminal was a priest, the punishment would be lessened. In sound out to assure that he was a priest, the criminal would have to read a passage from the intelligence in Latin because only clergy could read and write. If the criminal move to read the passage, it was called pleading the benefit of the clergy. The poetize most often read was the fifty-first Psalm which later became know as the neck verse because yarn it could save a man from hanging. By the 1800s, this priest loophole was eliminated bec ause most people were literate. After the cr! iminal was convicted, a punishment was given tally to the severity of the crime committed. The overcome punishments were saved for people who committed acts of treason because these usually intricate a plot against the throne. The reign of London was an infamous high-security prison house that was the site of unspeakable acts of bedevil on political criminals (Stewart 79). The wo(e) device most used at the Tower of London was the rack. The rack had a instrument panel of forest on which the intent laid. Ropes were level(p) around the criminals wrists and ankles and the ropes were then attached to cylinders which were rotated robing the prisoner a snap off at the joints. This method of torture was used for extracting information from the prisoner. There were many other(a) forms of punishments for wrongdoers. For less weighty criminals, there were the pillories and stocks. Both were make of wood and restricted the captive from moving and forced them to remain in very self -conscious positions. A gibbet had three semi-circles cutting out into it for the qualifying and progresss of the criminal. It kept the criminal hunched over and roughly condemnations red-coated constables would nail the captives ear to the pillory. Stocks were very alike to the pillory but instead of restraining the head and arms, it held the legs. Other punishments include amputations and branding. If a thief stole the equivalent of only a hardly a(prenominal) dollars, he was sentenced to have a body part amputated. Occasionally, an arm or hand was removed but usually, an ear or earlobe was cut off so the criminal could smooth do physical work. numerous criminals were branded with sulfurous bondage in the shape on a letter-T for thief or D for drunkard. Branding served two purposes, it was very galling and it prevented the criminal from claiming that he was a first time offender. The death penalization was used often, carried out publicly and in many different ways (including beheading, being boiled to death etc.). m! ore than 1,000 executions were performed from each one year. The most common form of the death penalty was a three-step method- being hanged, drawn and finally, quartered. The accused was hanged until he was and alive. Then his innards would be ripped out of him and burned. Finally, his limbs would be cut off and he would be beheaded. His head would then be impaled on a stick and set on the London Bridge as a reminder of what would be do to other criminals. Many women were accused of witchcraft. The Elizabethan Era was a time when everyone believed in witches and witchcraft but over a finis of several(prenominal) centuries witches were seen differently. In the 15th century, people claimed to have seen witches fast(a) on brooms and clash other witches in caves, while during the sixteenth century witches were accused of killing their neighbors cows, deforming childrens toes and causing trees to fall on barns (Stewart 85).

People unsaved witches for a failing businesses, bad crops or other jinxed occurrences because it was easier than explaining it in another way. If a charwoman was accused of witchcraft, she had to be tested. All witches were thought to be made of wood and whence would float. The accused womans arms would be tied across her vanity but her legs would be left free. Then, a rope would be tied around her with two men holding every side of the rope. They would then toss her into a deep lake or pond. If she floated she was a witch; if she sank the men would pull her out and would let her free. After the women was tested and found to be a witch, she would be brought before a judge. If the woman could bring in neighbors or friends that could say she was innocent, she would be let free; if the neighbor! s doubted her, she would give fork up a public punishment. Sometimes, she would have to go to church gnaw a white sheet and ask for forgiveness from the people and from God. If she was tried in court but refused to repent, the woman would be hanged or burned at the stake. If a judge doubted a womans innocence he would order a swimming test. This is when her in effect(p) thumb was tied to her left toe and she would be range into water. If she floated, she was thought to be aided by the devil and she would be fished out and killed; if she sank, she would drown. So if a swimming test was order the accused woman would die no matter what. Because the tightness was depressed during Elizabethan Era, the government didnt have the space or the money to keep criminals in jail. This is why the punishments were so lush and harsh. In conclusion, crime was a common occurrence Elizabethan England and severe punishments were always soon to follow. Works Cited Elizabethan offensive act ivity and Punishment. 10 Mar. 2006 . cyclopaedia of the Renaissance. Vol. 2. Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. New York: Charles Scrabners Sons, 1999. Picard, Liza. Elizabeths London. New York: St. Martins, 2003. Stewart, Gail B. Crime in Elizabethan London. manners in Elizabethan England. Farmington Hills, MI: Lucent, 2003. 76-85. If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderEssay.net

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