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OCR GCSE History B · J411
OCR J411 Check the specification (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
In medieval Britain, c.1250–c.1500, crime ranged from stealing food to murder and rebellion. Many offences would still be recognisable today, but others reflected medieval inequalities and the power of the monarch and landowners. Rules about hunting, for example, protected rights that were not shared equally by everyone.
A useful way to understand these offences is to ask what they harmed: a person, someone’s property or the authority of a ruler. These categories can overlap. Attacking a royal official could harm an individual while also challenging royal authority.
Assault and murder were crimes against the person. Assault involved attacking someone; murder was unlawful killing. These offences caused direct harm to individuals, unlike theft, which involved taking their possessions.
Violence could also have a political purpose. Intimidating or murdering royal officials could express anger about the way people were governed, rather than arising only from a personal dispute.
Theft included taking everyday necessities. Petty theft meant stealing goods of relatively low value, such as bread, ale or poultry. Stealing crops also took away food that someone else had worked to grow. Poverty could encourage these offences because food was essential for survival, although this does not mean that all theft was committed out of hunger.
Burglary involved breaking into a building to steal. Arson, deliberately setting fire to property, was particularly dangerous because many buildings were made from wood and thatch. A fire could therefore threaten buildings and lives, not just destroy the property initially targeted.
Poaching involved hunting or taking game illegally. Hunting rights were restricted, so taking an animal on someone else’s land without permission was not simply a way of obtaining food: it also infringed the rights of those who controlled the land and hunting. This helps explain why an act that might benefit a hungry person could still be treated as a crime.
Crimes against authority challenged rulers or their representatives. Treason was especially serious because it threatened the monarch’s position and power. Rebellion could involve attacks on officials, lords or the monarch’s authority.
Poverty, resentment of taxation and a sense of injustice could encourage resistance. People might believe that those governing them were making their lives harder or treating them unfairly. Violent attacks on officials therefore connected economic hardship with political discontent.
It is important to distinguish dissatisfaction from action: being unhappy with a ruler was not the same thing as committing murder or taking part in rebellion. The nature of the action determined the offence.
Medieval criminals were not one single type of person. The examples here include peasants and other people of low social status who stole goods, as well as rebels who challenged authority. A person stealing bread and a person attacking a royal official might both break the law, but their actions and motives were different.
Wealth and poverty help explain theft of necessities and resentment of taxes. Government helps explain offences involving royal officials and restricted hunting rights. Beliefs, attitudes and values help explain why defending property and loyalty to the monarch mattered so much. These connections show that crime was shaped both by people’s circumstances and by what medieval society chose to prohibit.
Support a description with specific crimes: for example, petty theft of bread or poultry, rather than simply ‘stealing’.
Distinguish crimes against people, property and authority. Explain what was harmed or challenged.
When explaining motives, connect poverty to theft of necessities and political discontent to attacks on officials. Do not assume every poor person was a criminal.
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Crime against the person
An offence that harms or threatens an individual, such as assault or murder.
Crime against property
An offence involving someone else’s possessions or buildings, such as theft, burglary or arson.
Crime against authority
An offence that challenges the power of rulers or their officials, such as treason.
Petty theft
The theft of goods of relatively low value, such as bread or poultry.
Poaching
Hunting or taking game illegally, especially on land where a person has no right to hunt.
Arson
Deliberately setting fire to property.
Treason
A serious betrayal of the monarch’s authority, such as attempting to overthrow the monarch.
Rebellion
An organised attempt to resist or overthrow established authority.
Put your knowledge into practice — try past paper questions for History B
Crime against the person
An offence that harms or threatens an individual, such as assault or murder.
Crime against property
An offence involving someone else’s possessions or buildings, such as theft, burglary or arson.
Crime against authority
An offence that challenges the power of rulers or their officials, such as treason.
Petty theft
The theft of goods of relatively low value, such as bread or poultry.
Poaching
Hunting or taking game illegally, especially on land where a person has no right to hunt.
Arson
Deliberately setting fire to property.
Treason
A serious betrayal of the monarch’s authority, such as attempting to overthrow the monarch.
Rebellion
An organised attempt to resist or overthrow established authority.