CrimeandPunishment1

​WHAT LAWS GOVERNED ENGLAND IN SHAKESPEARE’S TIMES? WHAT CRIMES WERE COMMON IN SHAKESPEARE’S ENGLAND? AND, WHAT WERE THE PUNISHMENTS? WHAT IS THE CLINK? WHAT WERE JAILS LIKE IN SHAKESPEARE’S ENGLAND?

Despite the prosperity and positive advancements of the English Renaissance in the Elizabethan era, treason, murder, and robbery were also prevalent. Harsh punishments, including the death penalty, were consistently dealt out. While many scholars remember the devastation left by the plague in Elizabethan England, one cannot count out the constant threat of crime, ranging from a pick pocket to a murderer, describes Gail B. Stewart in her book //Elizabethan England: Life in Elizabethan England//.

Certain laws were set in place during the Elizabethan period to help reduce poverty, acts of treason, and to preserve social class. The //poor laws//, passed between 1552 and 1597 were designed to lessen the hardships that the poor endured. For example, “The 1576 Poor Law Act was passed so that each town can provide work for the unemployed population,” according to //Elizabethan Era England laws: Listings of important Elizabethan Times England Laws.// As for treason, the laws were punitive and difficult to defend against. “The unfortunate person who was //accused// of treason was not even allowed the assistance of counsel,” describes “Shakespeare’s England: Law.” Designed to preserve class distinctions, the sumptuary laws dictated what fabrics one could wear based on social class. Even the specific color of clothing was restricted based on social class (however, players were exempt from these laws!) For example, “ bright and dark colours were generally more expensive to produce and therefore limited to higher status clothing,” explains //Elizabethan Era: Elizabethan Clothing Allowed for Women//. Laws during this period were created for many purposes ranging from helping reduce poverty rates, punishing acts of treason, and preserving the rigid class distinctions. This is a document about the //poor laws// in Elizabethan England.

Criminals were severely punished with the possible death sentence or physical torture or torment, all in public. To receive the death penalty, most criminals were caught in the act of treason, theft, or murder. For a more noble or important person, beheading was often used. Beheading was considered less excruciating and not very brutal. However, not all death penalties were this “painless.” One might be hung in public or even drawn and quartered. If one was accused of a less serious crime, such as a misdemeanor, one’s hand might be amputated, “the stump being thrust into boiling pitch or tar,” according to “Shakespeare’s England: Laws.” Some criminals were incarcerated in the Clink, located in Southwark, near London, and owned by the Bishop of Winchester. Although this prison has existed for nearly a millennium, the word “clink” is used today as an expression referring to jail. Punishment in Elizabethan England was very severe, without the safeguards that are currently in place in England today. This tool was called an amputation axe, and it was used for severe punishment Many criminals were hung in public. Although the Elizabethan era had a gilded appearance, when it came to the issues of laws, crime, and punishment, the reality was less than appealing.

WORKS CITED ** Authors, Various. //Shakespeare's England An Account Of The Life And Manners Of His// //Age (Volume II)//. Great Britain: Oxford (Clarendon Press), 1966. Print.

"Elizabethan Recusants and the Recusancy Laws." //Elizabethan Era//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2010. .

"Elizabethan Era England laws - Listings." //Listings of important Elizabethan Times// // England //// laws //. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2010. .

"Southwark's prisons." //Southwark Council Homepage - Telephone: 020 7525 5000//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2010. <http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info

Stewart, Gail B.. //Elizabethan England: Life in Elizabethan England//. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2003. Print.

Picard, Liza. //Elizabeth////'s London: Everyday Life in Elizabethan London//. New York, New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2005. Print.