Week 1 - Medieval Crime and Punishment

LO: To explore the causes of crime and the effectiveness of justice in the medieval period.

Crime and punishment in Medieval Britain - Crime and Punishment: Video playlist - BBC Bitesize

Lesson 1: What were the main causes of crime in the medieval period?

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Picture prompt: Show an image of a medieval village. Ask: What might make people commit crimes in this time?

Each group receives a set of cause cards (e.g. poverty, food shortages, lack of jobs, harsh winters, high taxes, unfair laws).

  • Pupils sort cards into "Most likely to cause crime" to "Least likely."Discuss rankings as a class and link to real medieval examples.
  • Pupils write a short paragraph answering: Why do you think people committed crimes in the medieval period?
  • Challenge: Can they compare to today?

    • Lesson 2: How effective was medieval justice?

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    • Matching game: Pupils match crimes to punishments (e.g. theft → stocks, murder → execution, gossip → ducking stool).

    • Discuss which punishments were harsh, fair, or strange.

    • Introduce the concept of trial by ordeal and local tithings.

    Discussion:

    • Was justice fair for everyone? Rich vs. poor? Men vs. women?

    • Opinion line: Pupils stand on a line to show how fair they think medieval justice was (0 = not fair, 10 = very fair). Explain why.

    Lesson 3: What does the legend of Robin hood tell us about medieval justice?

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    • Play a short animated clip or read a quick retelling of the Robin Hood story.

    Main Activity (20 mins):

    • Group discussion: Is Robin Hood a hero or a criminal?

    • Link to previous lessons: Why was he stealing? Was the law fair?

    • Pupils create a “Wanted” poster or write a diary entry from Robin’s perspective explaining why he breaks the law.

    • Whole-class discussion: What does this story tell us about how people felt about justice in medieval times?