EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Exam Practice - The Role of the Church
The Role of the Church in Crime and Punishment · Chapter 1: Crime and punishment in medieval England, c1000-c1500 · Lesson 3 of 4 · 32 marks · 35 minutes
Name Date
Answer all questions. Use specific names, dates and examples in every answer.
Question 1 EXPLAIN ONE WAY [4 marks]
Explain one way in which the way guilt was decided in the period c1000-c1200 was different from the way guilt was decided in the period c1200-c1500.
Question 2 EXPLAIN WHY [12 marks]
Explain why the Church had an important influence on crime and punishment in the early thirteenth century. You may use the following in your answer: sanctuary; trial by ordeal. You must also use information of your own.
Question 3 HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE? [16 marks]
"The Church was the most important influence on crime and punishment in the period c1000-c1500." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. You may use the following in your answer: benefit of clergy; the Statute of Labourers (1351). You must also use information of your own. (16 marks, plus 4 for spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terminology)
Answers
Check your answer only once you have written one.
Question 1 [4 marks]
Before 1200, if oath-helpers could not settle a case, guilt was decided by trial by ordeal, where people believed God would reveal the truth - for example through trial by hot iron or cold water. After the Church banned priests from taking part in ordeals in 1215, guilt was decided by trial by jury, where local men judged the evidence. So guilt moved from being decided by God to being decided by people.
▸ A valid difference identified 1-2 marks
▸ Supported with specific knowledge of both periods 3-4 marks
Question 2 [12 marks]
One reason was that the Church could protect accused people from the king's justice through sanctuary. A person who reached a church could claim protection for 40 days, after which they either faced trial or abjured the realm, walking to a port and leaving England. This meant the Church, not the king, decided what happened to some fugitives. A second reason was the Church's decision in 1215 to end trial by ordeal. The ordeals relied on priests to bless the water or iron, so when Pope Innocent III's Fourth Lateran Council banned priests from taking part, they could no longer be held. This forced the king's courts to find a new way of deciding guilt, and by the 1220s trial by jury had replaced the ordeal - a lasting change caused directly by the Church. A third reason, beyond the stimulus, was benefit of clergy. Clergy accused of crimes could be tried in Church courts, which never used the death penalty, and Henry II's failure to change this after the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 showed how strong the Church's position was. The Church therefore shaped who was tried, how they were tried, and how they were punished.
▸ Level 1 (1-3) A simple or general answer
▸ Level 2 (4-6) Some explanation of one or more reasons, with some knowledge
▸ Level 3 (7-9) A developed explanation linked to the question, with accurate knowledge
▸ Level 4 (10-12) An analytical explanation of several reasons, with knowledge that goes beyond the stimulus points
Question 3 [16 marks]
On the one hand, the Church had a major influence throughout the period. It ran trial by ordeal until 1215, and its decision to end it led to trial by jury. Church courts tried clergy and moral crimes and never gave the death penalty, and benefit of clergy let criminal clergy - and later anyone who could read the neck verse - escape hanging. Sanctuary gave fugitives protection. When Henry II tried to limit this, the murder of Becket in 1170 forced him to back down. On the other hand, kings and governments were arguably more important. The Normans' Forest Laws and murdrum fine were created by the king to protect royal power. Royal justice grew steadily - Henry II's Assize of Clarendon (1166), travelling judges, coroners and Justices of the Peace. New crimes were created by the government in response to events, such as the Statute of Labourers of 1351 after the Black Death, and the Treason Act of 1351. Even heresy laws in 1401 were enforced by the state burning heretics. Overall, the Church's influence was very significant in how guilt was decided and in protecting some people from punishment, but the king and government were the main influence on what counted as a crime and how most people were punished. Over the period royal power grew while the Church's role became more limited.
▸ Level 1 (1-4) A simple or generalised answer
▸ Level 2 (5-8) Some analysis, with a judgement that is asserted
▸ Level 3 (9-12) Analysis of both sides with accurate knowledge and a supported judgement
▸ Level 4 (13-16) Sustained analysis, knowledge beyond the stimulus, and a clear, justified judgement
▸ SPaG (4) Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar, with specialist terms such as sanctuary and benefit of clergy