Crime and Punishment, c.1250 to present
Outcomes: To identify and describe events and developments in the history of crime and punishment in Britain To understand changes and continuities in crime and punishment in Britain (from c.1250 to the present) To understand the most significant characteristics of different ages and make comparisons between different periods of history
Overview Three key issues: • • •
The nature and extent of crime The enforcement of law and order The punishment of offenders
‘Five Factors’ that influence change and continuity: 1. Belief, attitudes and values 2. Wealth and poverty 3. Urbanisation 4. Government 5. Communications
The increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities
Overview Content: • Medieval Britain (c.1250-c.1500) • Early Modern Britain (c.1500-c.1750) • Industrial Britain (c.1750-c.1900) • Britain since c.1900
Assessment – same structure as Vikings • You will be assessed on the following: Q1 - Factual knowledge (3 x 1 mark questions) e.g.: Q2/3 – Explanation e.g.:
Q4/5 (choose 1) – Analysis e.g.:
What was life like in Medieval Britain (England)?
Starter: what can historians use to learn about the lives of people who lived 1000 years ago? Jot down as many ideas as you can... What can we learn about medieval life from the Luttrell Psalter? • Geoffrey Luttrell, a wealthy landowner from Lincolnshire paid to have a psalter (prayer book) made around 1325. • This would have been very expensive, so Luttrell may have been trying to prove his power or the strength of his faith. • The text in the Psalter is the Psalms from the Bible, written in Latin. What makes the book so fascinating for historians are the margin illustrations, called illuminations. • Some are religious scenes, others clearly imagined, but many are scenes of everyday life in rural, medieval England.
What was life like in Medieval Britain (England)? What can we learn about medieval life from the Luttrell Psalter? Task: • Working in a pair/group, you will have 3 minutes to look carefully at each of the extracts from the Luttrell Psalter. What can you learn from them? Record your ideas on the table. Ext: • In medieval times only the wealthiest people could afford to produce illustrated manuscripts. Do you think there are any limitations to the evidence in the Luttrell Psalter for us as historians?
Plenary: What was life like in Medieval Britain (England)? • Robin Hood has been a popular figure since the Middle Ages – one of the first books printed in England (1492) was A Mery Gest of Robyn Hoode. • The key parts of the story are: – He was unjustly outlawed – He robbed the rich to give to the poor – His enemy was the Sherriff of Nottingham – He robbed rich Church leaders – He killed deer in the forest (against the Kings ‘Forest Laws’)
• Discuss: what can we infer about medieval attitudes to the law from the popularity of this story?
Luttrell Psalter - Extract one Describe the image:
Extract two Describe the image:
Extract three Describe the image:
What might it tell us about the importance of animals?
What does it tell us about the kind of work done by village people?
What does it tell us about the kinds of technology used people at this time?
Extract four Describe the image:
Extract five Describe the image:
Extract six Describe the image:
What might it tell us about the role of women in medieval villages?
What do you think the picture tells us about the differences between rich and poor people’s lives?
What does it tell us about the kinds of clothes medieval villagers might have worn?