Crime and Punishment in the Elizabethan Era

Travis Galvez, Jesse Hernandez, Jocelyn Matthews, Andres Suarez, and Jordan Maclean Tucker Chile

Crimes of the Nobility

Alchemy Blasphemy High Treason Murder Rebellion Sedition Spying Witchcraft

Crimes of the Commoners

Adultery Begging Cut Purses Debtors Dice coggers Forgers Fraud Theft

Forms of Execution/Punishment: Commoners

Boiling in water or oil Branding Cutting off assorted body parts- eyes, ears, etc. The Drunkard's Cloak Ducking Stool The Gossip's Bride or The Brank Hanging The Pillory and The Stocks Pressing Starving in public The wheel

Forms of Execution/Punishment: Nobles/Prisoners

Beheading (Mainly nobles)- Took several blows before head actually came off. Level of pain varied by skill of the executioner and by the sharpness of the weapon The showing of the head- Not actually meant to show crowd the head. Hung, Drawn, and Quartered (Prisoners)- Reserved for the worst of criminals. They were hanged until they were about "half-dead" (hung), then they were carried by sled to a field (drawn), then ripped apart by horses (quartered).

Other forms of Execution

Burned at the stake- Death from fire was not only cause. Lack of oxygen and suffocation was highly likely. Stake was reserved for traitors- Speaking out against the government and/or religion Origin of Bloody Mary- Queen Elizabeth's Catholic sister Mary sent 300 Protestants to the stake, earning her the title

Torture Weapons

Iron Balls- Strapped to people's ankles to stretch them The Rack- Chained people and stretched them until their joints were separated The Iron Maiden- Coffins with spikes on the inside. Prisoners were shut there for days, bleeding out the entire time. Amputation Saw- Made to cut off assorted limbs from body. What limb was cut depended on the crime.

Minor Crimes and Punishment

Dealt with by the Justice of the Peace Committed usually by desperate commoners Town parishes were responsible and collected taxes in order to support them. Crime to travel without a license- Laws enforced so that vagabonds could not beg from town to town.

Actors were under a lot of suspicion, being liable for the same crimes as the poor.
Foreigners had a large amount of suspicion cast on them. Punishments were doled out accordingly to those who broke Elizabethan law.

Works Cited
"Elizabethan Crime and Punishment." Elizabethan Crime and Punishment. 6 May 2013 <http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-crimeand-punishment.htm>. "Elizabethan Tortures." Elizabethan Tortures. 6 may 2013 http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethantortures.htm "Elizabethan Executions" Elizabethan Executions. http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethanexecutions.htm