Law and order

Anglo-Saxon crowns ©

The new conception of royal justice was aggressive. The Anglo-Saxons had brutal corporal and capital punishments at their disposal, including 'the ordeal' (суд Божий, ордалии (различные испытания, с помощью которых в Средние века устанавливали вину или невиновность подсудимого): ordeal by fire — испытание огнём, ordeal by water — испытание водой) and grisly mutilations (жахливі каліцтва). And they also tried to persuade, cajole (умовляти, улещувати), or enforce allegiance (дотримання вірності) with the common oath. Like many traditional societies, the Anglo-Saxons placed a high value on a person's word, their sworn promise.

At the heart of the tenth-century state was the oath, taken by all freemen from the age of 12, to abstain (утримуватися) from and denounce (викривати) any major crime. This common oath enshrined (закріплювали) the sense of social community and responsibility that underpinned (підкріплюватися) the law. In this light, theft was seen as an act of disloyalty. If you had broken your oath and committed a serious crime your entire kin could be punished. In the old days the local assembly or the king's court would try you. In the new Anglo-Saxon state there was a hierarchy of courts in each shire and borough, and revamped (перегляд) local courts known as 'hundred' courts.

The presiding officials of these courts were, in effect, local agents of the king - royal appointees. Local cases would be heard in the hundred courts and it was the obligation of the hundred to find the miscreant (лиходій) and bring him back to face justice and, if necessary, to punish the kin.

The hundred would organise the pursuit of notable criminals who fled, and punishment could include exile - you could be transported with your kin group to a completely different part of the country. Harsh methods, to be sure, but these were harsh times.

'The Christian king must severely punish wicked men... He must be merciful and yet austere (строгий); that is the king's right - and that is the way to get things done in a nation.' - Archbishop Wulfstan

Crime and violence were the central problem for the early English kings, all the more so as they were Christians who saw it as their job to be Christ's vicar on earth. In one of his law codes, King Athelstan is recorded apologising for the bad state of public order: 'I am sorry my peace is kept so badly. My advisors say I have put up with it too long'.

With brutal punishments at their disposal, it would have been easy for a king to respond with an iron fist. Which makes the mitigating touches (пом'якшувальні штрихи) of humanity that we occasionally find all the more touching. King Athelstan, for example, is reported saying to his councillors that he was concerned about the number of young people being executed under the death penalty, 'as he sees everywhere is the case'.

In his day, the penalty could be enforced on anyone 12 years old or over, but the king raised the age of criminal responsibility to 16 because, as he said simply, 'it is too cruel'. That, remember, is around 930, while as late as the early 19th century there are cases of ten, nine and even eight year olds being executed for sheep stealing!

The story provides a salutary (благотворний) warning (попередження) against having a patronising attitude (поблажливе ставлення) to the people of the past, or assuming our ancestors of 1,000 years ago were more cruel, or less civilised, than we are. This was a genuine effort to create a humane government, however unpalatable (неприємний) some of its methods may seem to us now, and however ineffectual the king sometimes admitted they were at the time.

Part 6

Coins

A coin from Athelstan's reign ©

The tenth century sees the beginnings of a money economy in England, and coinage is one of the great achievements of the later Anglo-Saxon 'state'. Indeed, it is one of our key pieces of evidence for the very existence of an Anglo-Saxon state.

By Edgar's day, there were many mints in southern England. You had to collect your new coins from a local mint, or take old ones back there to be 'recoined'. By Edgar's day there was nowhere in mainland England, apart from the most mountainous rural areas, that was more than 15 miles from a mint. By then, the government could announce that they were going to recoin - presumably in response to inflationary pressures in the economy.

The new coins would carry a new design so there was no confusion with the old issue. This amazingly sophisticated system was far more developed than in any other European country, and remained so for long afterwards. And to cap (завершать; венчать) it all, they allowed regional variations in the coin design. Some, for instance, dispensed (розподіляти) with including the king's head in the design altogether, perhaps to appease regional sentiment - something which even today's devisers of the euro feel unable to do.

The way this was organised and executed is in itself a testimony to the success of the Anglo-Saxon state - the English monetary system of pounds, shillings and pence survived until the United Kingdom went decimal, in 1971. Even in 2001, the election opinion polls showed a residual reluctance, on the part of the British public, to part with the British pound and replace it with the euro of the European Community. Perhaps that is not surprising, for the pound is the last symbol of the royal currency put in place all that time ago.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20