Why were people hung in the Medieval Times?

Answer 1

The modern concept of dungeons is incorrect and much influenced by fictional books and films.

The Anglo-Norman word donjon refers to a castle keep, the central strong tower of a Norman castle. It comes from Latin dominium, meaning "a place of lordship or authority", since the main purpose was to dominate the surrounding area and establish a strong hold over the local population. Its purpose was to strike fear in the hearts of the peasants, who would be terrified of "being sent to the donjon" - meaning being asked to report to the nobleman in his great tower. It would indicate that the peasant was in trouble, or owed money, or was to be fined for some failure in his duties.

People were sometimes confined to a donjon, meaning that they were imprisoned within the castle tower but could move about freely between the rooms. This often happened at Dover Castle, which had absolutely no prison cells but many people were confined to the donjon. Some even had the freedom to walk about in the castle grounds but were not permitted to go out of the gates.

Imprisonment was a very rare punishment in the medieval period; at first many penalties involved losing eyes, hands or other body parts, but by the late 12th century monetary fines were much more commonly used. The word fine comes from the Latin for "an end" - paying a fine put an end to the legal matter. Imprisonment was often a temporary measure while matters were being investigated - the first friars to arrive in England (in the early 13th century) were confined at Dover Castle (not in cells but within the entire castle) until they could be questioned about their beliefs. As soon as it was found that they were not heretical they were released.

Answer 2

People were not hung, they were hanged. There is a considerable difference.

Hanging was the usual death penalty in England and some other European countries, where a serious offence such as treason or murder warranted such a penalty. Hangings were usually in public and the victim was strangled by being suspended by a rope around the neck until he was dead.

Being hung was part of the far more rare sentence: to be hung, drawn and quartered. This was most often used for rebels against the king's authority. It involved being briefly hung by the neck but not killed, being cut down, disembowelled while still alive, then being beheaded and the corpse cut into four quarters - these and the head were prominently displayed as a warning to others.