---
title: "Crime & Punishment"
description: "How justice worked in medieval times: trial by ordeal, trial by combat, the role of the sheriff; punishments including stocks, pillory, and dungeons; how different it was from modern justice"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/crime-and-punishment-mt_3tQXH9GwIa
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/crime-and-punishment-mt_3tQXH9GwIa.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Crime & Punishment

How justice worked in medieval times: trial by ordeal, trial by combat, the role of the sheriff; punishments including stocks, pillory, and dungeons; how different it was from modern justice

Subject: History · Area: Medieval Times · Ages 9 to 11
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/crime-and-punishment-mt_3tQXH9GwIa

## Ready when they can

- Describe at least two medieval methods of deciding guilt (trial by ordeal, trial by combat)
- Name at least two medieval punishments and explain what they involved
- Compare one aspect of medieval justice to how justice works today

## Lesson: Crime and Punishment in Medieval Times

Medieval towns had no police force and no fingerprints. If someone was accused of a crime, people needed another way to decide if they were guilty. Two strange methods were trial by ordeal and trial by combat.

In a trial by ordeal, the accused might have to carry a red-hot iron bar or pull a stone from boiling water. If the wound healed cleanly after three days, people believed God had shown the person was innocent. In a trial by combat, the accused fought the accuser, and whoever won was judged to be telling the truth.

**Example.** A man named Wat was accused of stealing a sheep. He was made to carry a hot iron nine steps. His hand was bandaged, and three days later a priest checked it. Because it was healing well, Wat was declared innocent.

Once someone was found guilty, punishment came fast and was meant to be seen by everyone. A person might be locked in the stocks or pillory in the town square, with their hands or feet trapped in wood while people watched and jeered. Others were thrown into a dark, damp dungeon, sometimes for years. The sheriff was the king's officer in charge of catching criminals and keeping order in the county.

*(drawing: One road through medieval justice: accused, tested by ordeal or combat, then punished in public.)*

**Tip.** Today, courts use evidence, witnesses, and juries to decide guilt, not hot iron or a sword fight. Medieval justice often punished the poor harshly for small crimes, which we now see as unfair.

**Recap.** Medieval justice relied on trial by ordeal or combat to decide guilt, and punished guilty people with public shame or dungeons, in ways that seem harsh and unfair by today's standards.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Robin Hood & King Arthur](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/robin-hood-and-king-arthur-mt_0FYFiLTqx4)
- [Medieval Pyramid of Power](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/medieval-pyramid-of-power-mt_bjlY5TE1y-)
- [The Medieval Church](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-medieval-church-mt_LuwHnQItF_)

## Opens up

- [Courts, Judges and a Fair Trial](https://lightmysky.com/learn/civics-and-economics/courts-judges-and-a-fair-trial-mt_jJF6pQc7a6)