The act of stealing has always been frowned upon, but the consequences for such actions have varied drastically over time. A new study examines how the punishment for theft dramatically shifted during the Middle Ages in Western Europe.
In her article, “Shifting Attitudes to Theft in Medieval Western Europe,” Valérie Toureille details the various criminal laws created throughout the Middle Ages to see how harshly thieves were dealt with.
In the early Middle Ages, theft was often considered a personal offence. If someone stole from you, it was up to you or your family to seek retribution, and laws at the time focused more on compensation for the victim than punishing the thief.
However, as society evolved and centralized governments gained power, attitudes towards theft began to change. By the late Middle Ages, theft was seen as a crime against the state, not just the individual. As Toureille explains, “In many ways, theft was a greater crime than a homicide which could sometimes even be pardoned if shown to be committed in self-defence or because of honour: theft was the result of betrayal. Theft harms the individual and the whole group. There were no insignificant thefts in the Middle Ages. Theft was a detestable crime, despicable in its very nature, and for which there could be no excuse.”
By the twelfth century, punishments became harsher, including imprisonment, banishment, corporal punishment, and even execution for repeat offenders. For example, in France an increasingly common punishment was cutting off of part or the whole of an ear, which could be seen as a form of branding. It also made judges easier to spot repeat offenders.
Toureille also asks whether this shift to harsher punishments “was do public authorities respond to the anxieties of their populations, or rather consciously exacerbate them in order to increase their own power?” She finds it a difficult one to answer, but notes that in decades after the Black Death there was increasing worries about the many young men who were moving around and not employed. France would see many former soldiers turning to brigandage in times of peace, often terrorizing whole regions.
She concludes her article by noting, “at the end of the Middle Ages, the harshest responses to theft developed, and hardened criminals and violent thieves (robbery) were pursued mercilessly.”
The article “Shifting Attitudes to Theft in Medieval Western Europe,” appears in A Companion to Crime and Deviance in the Middle Ages, edited by Hannah Skoda, which was published last year by Arc Humanities Press. Valérie Toureille, a professor at the University of Paris-Seine, is a leading historian on crime and justice in the Middle Ages.
Top Image: British Library MS Additional 49622 fol. 153r
The act of stealing has always been frowned upon, but the consequences for such actions have varied drastically over time. A new study examines how the punishment for theft dramatically shifted during the Middle Ages in Western Europe.
In her article, “Shifting Attitudes to Theft in Medieval Western Europe,” Valérie Toureille details the various criminal laws created throughout the Middle Ages to see how harshly thieves were dealt with.
In the early Middle Ages, theft was often considered a personal offence. If someone stole from you, it was up to you or your family to seek retribution, and laws at the time focused more on compensation for the victim than punishing the thief.
However, as society evolved and centralized governments gained power, attitudes towards theft began to change. By the late Middle Ages, theft was seen as a crime against the state, not just the individual. As Toureille explains, “In many ways, theft was a greater crime than a homicide which could sometimes even be pardoned if shown to be committed in self-defence or because of honour: theft was the result of betrayal. Theft harms the individual and the whole group. There were no insignificant thefts in the Middle Ages. Theft was a detestable crime, despicable in its very nature, and for which there could be no excuse.”
By the twelfth century, punishments became harsher, including imprisonment, banishment, corporal punishment, and even execution for repeat offenders. For example, in France an increasingly common punishment was cutting off of part or the whole of an ear, which could be seen as a form of branding. It also made judges easier to spot repeat offenders.
Toureille also asks whether this shift to harsher punishments “was do public authorities respond to the anxieties of their populations, or rather consciously exacerbate them in order to increase their own power?” She finds it a difficult one to answer, but notes that in decades after the Black Death there was increasing worries about the many young men who were moving around and not employed. France would see many former soldiers turning to brigandage in times of peace, often terrorizing whole regions.
She concludes her article by noting, “at the end of the Middle Ages, the harshest responses to theft developed, and hardened criminals and violent thieves (robbery) were pursued mercilessly.”
The article “Shifting Attitudes to Theft in Medieval Western Europe,” appears in A Companion to Crime and Deviance in the Middle Ages, edited by Hannah Skoda, which was published last year by Arc Humanities Press. Valérie Toureille, a professor at the University of Paris-Seine, is a leading historian on crime and justice in the Middle Ages.
Top Image: British Library MS Additional 49622 fol. 153r
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