Anglo-saxon Era Criminal Legal Research

This article introduced something valuable about law of Anglo-Saxons that were residents in England before Norman Conquest (in 1066). There were three parts, include ideas of crime,crime and penalty,written laws about criminal. As we known, there should be ideas about criminal law in a community. Then, rules that dealt with matters came into being on the basic of them. These were the rules of crime and penalty. At last, legislators compiled the codes (the written laws in true) after summing up the rules. It is the reason of the order of three parts.The first part tells something about the criminal ideas in Anglo-Saxon age. Residents in that day could not distinguish criminal law from tort law. So, for them, there was only law of wrongs include criminal law and tort law. In this part, it introduced the ideal basic of the form of criminal law. The society in this age was like to primary society in some sense. Their criminal ideas not only be influenced by primary ideas deeply, but some of them was transited from primary ideas too. There were typical examples such as community ideas basic on the kindred, and ideas of "King's peace". I introduced them in the article.In the second part, it discuses something about the types of crime and penalty. There were many types of crime, but they were different from modern ones. The major purpose of them is to protect the privileges of governmental class and states; and, they protect the privileges of ecclesiastic that is the governor in spirit too. In the other hand, government, as the manager of the community, has the duties to have the country stable and orderly, to protect life and property of people. The most punishments in this age were life punishments and corporal punishments, and freedom punishment was few. All of these is strange for us and different from modern society. Fine punishment is the most important penalty of this age, but it could not be clearly distinguished from the fine and compensation in the tort law. "Outlaw" is the typical punishment in Germanic community that day. It is out of the imagination of modern man. As a whole, the types of crime and penalty were cruel and simple. The third part is about the major written laws of criminal in Angle-Saxon age. Ultimately, we can say that written laws in this age is written laws of criminal, because since from 6th century, every countries in England had already compiled codes that were mainly about criminal law, and were on the basic of custom laws. It is a pity that I only introduced several important codes in that time for being shorts of materials. These codes were Laws of ?thelberht,The Laws of Ine and The Legal Code of Alfred the Great. Then there is a simple introduction to other codes as I know. At last, I talk something about the important effects and significances about the codification of custom criminal law.Epilogue is very short. It discusses the problem that the simple of Anglo-Saxon laws, and the problem that later generation sanctified them on the purpose of political battle; point out that how to look on early law correctly.