Who decided the punishments in medieval England?

Answer 1

• Imprisonment
• Public Pillory
• Public Torture
• Execution
  • Hanging
  • Drawing and quartering
  • Drowning
  • Burning
  • Beheading
  • Stoning
  • Pressing

Answer 2

Minor lords of the manor generally sentenced minor offenders, and had the power to inflict any sentence except death. That included fines, extra duties, whipping, branding, the stocks and the pillory, and mutilation.

If the offence warranted death, the lord of the manor consigned the accused to prison to await 'gaol delivery' and he would be thrown into a lockup or castle dungeon. When the King, or his justices, visited the area, the accused would be tried by jury. If convicted, the presiding judge, or the King, sentenced them to death, usually by the rope. This court also dealt out minor (and major) punishments to the nobility - eg, having disgraced knights paraded through the streets.

In a Church court, the Bishop decided the sentence. Instead of death, Church courts consigned the guilty to life imprisonment (which often meant starvation or burial alive) or handed the guilty to the secular arm - that is, the King's court, where they would be condemned to burn.

Answer 3

The Monarchy (king/queen) or the barons of the area.

Answer 4

The jury decided the punishments in medieval England unless the crime was more serious then the king would decide