Legal system and punishment The king was the centre of the government, so he and his administration are known as the ‘central government’. However, the king could not govern every part of the country directly from the centre. He needed other people to govern each local area, making sure criminals were punished and taxes were collected. This work and the work of the officials who did it are described as the local government. Task: Read through the information below and highlight any SPECIFIC FACTUAL DETAIL. Create a diagram to show the format of the local government in the box below. The very top layer of the local government consisted of the earls, the most powerful landowners. The four main earldoms were Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia. In these vast areas the earl was expected to ensure that there were no rebellions and that crimes were punished, and crimes raised for the king. Earls therefore second only in power to the king and could rival the king if they banded together. However, earls owned such large areas of land they were not able to collect every tax or punish every crime in their lands. Therefore, kings created a more detailed system of local government that was very effective – the shires and the hundreds. There were about 40 shires or counties. The king appointed a local thegn as sheriff – his chief official in each shire. The king sent him instructions in documents called writs. Sheriffs were expected to collect taxes and fines owed to the king, carry out justice in the king’s shire-court and raise soldiers for the royal army whenever they needed. Shire-courts dealt with the most serious crimes – murder, theft and disputes over ownership of land. The hundreds were sub-divisions of shires. Hundreds each contained around 12 villages. Each hundred had its own reeve who held a hundred court each month to deal with less serious jobs. The shire- and hundred- courts were the heart of the legal system, along with the king’s laws. These laws were very detailed, although king’s had to accept that there were different legal customs around the country. For example, in parts of Northumbria, men still took part in a blood feud. If a relative was injured or killed, family members believed that they had the right to take own revenge, often through violence, rather than taking the criminal to court for punishment.
Legal system and punishment The king was the centre of the government, so he and his administration are known as the ‘central government’. However, the king could not govern every part of the country directly from the centre. He needed other people to govern each local area, making sure criminals were punished and taxes were collected. This work and the work of the officials who did it are described as the local government. Task: Read through the information below and highlight any SPECIFIC FACTUAL DETAIL. Create a diagram to show the format of the local government in the box below. The very top layer of the local government consisted of the earls, the most powerful landowners. The four main earldoms were Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia. In these vast areas the earl was expected to ensure that there were no rebellions and that crimes were punished, and crimes raised for the king. Earls therefore second only in power to the king and could rival the king if they banded together. However, earls owned such large areas of land they were not able to collect every tax or punish every crime in their lands. Therefore, kings created a more detailed system of local government that was very effective – the shires and the hundreds. There were about 40 shires or counties. The king appointed a local thegn as sheriff – his chief official in each shire. The king sent him instructions in documents called writs. Sheriffs were expected to collect taxes and fines owed to the king, carry out justice in the king’s shire-court and raise soldiers for the royal army whenever they needed. Shire-courts dealt with the most serious crimes – murder, theft and disputes over ownership of land. The hundreds were sub-divisions of shires. Hundreds each contained around 12 villages. Each hundred had its own reeve who held a hundred court each month to deal with less serious jobs. The shire- and hundred- courts were the heart of the legal system, along with the king’s laws. These laws were very detailed, although king’s had to accept that there were different legal customs around the country. For example, in parts of Northumbria, men still took part in a blood feud. If a relative was injured or killed, family members believed that they had the right to take own revenge, often through violence, rather than taking the criminal to court for punishment.