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Rosenstock
Kyle Rosenstock

Ms. DeWinne & Ms. Paolino

Writing & Research

16 February 2021

Crime and Punishment During Elizabethan Era

Life during the Elizabethan Era was drastically different compared to the modern world.

During the Elizabethan Era, there was a social hierarchy. In this hierarchy, the monarchy was

ranked highest, followed by the nobility, gentry, merchants, yeomen, and finally the laborers

(Rayon 1). The inequalities of this social hierarchy gave way to crime because poverty is one of

many things that leads to crime. Having absolute power also allowed the government to be

ruthless with their punishments to set an example. Queen Elizabeth was an absolute monarch and

held authority to make the critical decisions and set the central policies of both state and church.

She also held much power because she never married and ran the country by herself, not needing

a man’s assistance (Morrill 1). While many aspects of life were unusual during the Elizabethan

Era, none of these compared to the punishments that were handed out for crimes. Many would

not even consider these actions as punishment, the people who committed crimes would be killed

in inhumane ways. During the Elizabethan Era, the crimes and punishments that the citizens

unfortunately endured were the most unsettling aspects of life.

During the Elizabethan Era, there were both minor and much more serious punishments.

Some of the more minor punishment came from incest (sexual relations between people closely

related) and fornication (intercourse between two people not married). The primary punishment

to such crimes was to be carried through the city in a cart while wearing a sign describing the

offense. This was a version of taunting during the Elizabethan Era. Another form of punishment
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during this era was pillory: when a criminal stood with his head and hands through holes in a

wooden plank. While standing in the wooden plank was not a severe punishment, the public

could make this punishment as painful as they pleased. Crowds would gather around to throw

things at the criminal. If the public felt deeply about the criminal’s crimes, then there was a

chance the criminal would not survive. The ears of the criminal were sometimes nailed to the

pillory or even cut off. If the sentence involved whipping, then the offender’s back would often

soon be open and bloody (Picard 3). Shockingly, these were only considered to be the minor

punishments that criminals had to face in the Elizabethan Era.

More serious crimes during the Elizabethan Era were designed to have punishments as

gruesome as possible. There was a social order which everyone followed to keep the society

running smoothly. Crimes that threatened the social order, such as heresy, treason, and murder,

were considered to be dangerous offenses. The heretics would be burned to death at the stake.

Traitors were also faced with one of the harshest punishments, which was to be hanged for a

short period of time and then cut down while still alive. Then, they were disemboweled and their

intestines were thrown into a pot of boiling of water or a fire. Their arms and legs would then be

cut off and finally, they would be beheaded. Their heads would be mounted on poles outside the

city gates as a warning for the penalties one would face for treason. Traitors that were convicted

and of noble birth would be executed in a more dignified way, such as being beheaded or hanged

until death, then quartered. Quartering is where all four of the person limbs would be ripped off

of their body until the body was in fourths. These gruesome executions took place in public and

drew huge crowds. Public executions were an important way of demonstrating the states

authority (Harrison 4).

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Crime during the Elizabethan Era reached its height during the 1590s. This was due to

when “during the 16th Century the population rose dramatically and this, added to other

economic pressures, meant that an increasing number of people were unable to support

themselves” (Briscoe 1). This increase in poverty was directly related to the increase in crime.

The young, the poor, and the homeless committed a large amount of property crime according to

The Oxford Illustrated History of Tudor & Stuart Britain. In an attempt to contain the property

crimes, parliament enacted laws which attempted to control the behavior of the poor community.

When this set of laws failed, the government began to explore other options. Five houses of

correction were made between 1546 and 1553. These were places where orphans, street children,

the physically and mentally ill, and vagrants could stay. These houses of correction aimed to

reform their inmates, but instead, they worked long hours under harsh conditions and were often

abused by the hospital workers. Still, houses of correction were valuable because they “reflected

a growing interest in the idea that the state should aim to change criminals' behavior instead of

merely imposing a punishment for offenses” (Harrison 5). These building were made in order to

try and contain the overwhelming amount of crime that was being committed by the poor

population.

During the Elizabethan Era, the crimes and punishments that citizens faced were the most

unique aspects of life. There were both minor and major crimes which warranted both minor and

major punishments. Some of the smaller crimes were incest and fornication, while some of the

more serious crimes consisted of heresy, treason, and murder. The punishments for the minor

crimes were mainly to humiliate the criminal, however, if the criminal had to face pillory, then

the punishment could be as sever and hurtful as the other citizens wanted. The major crimes

received some of the most gruesome punishments to date. Criminals were burned alive and
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hanged until they were almost dead, before having limbs cut off and being beheaded. The

majority of these crimes came from the poor, and houses of correction were made to try and

contain such lower-class citizens. Many laws were also enforced to deal with this issue, but none

succeeded. While the Elizabethan Era faced many issues such as plagues, death, and diseases,

none were more extreme then the punishments that citizens had to face for their crimes.
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Work Cited

Briscoe, A. (2011, February 17). History - British history in depth: Poverty in Elizabethan

England. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/tudors/poverty_01.shtml

"Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan England." Elizabethan World Reference Library, edited

by Sonia G. Benson and Jennifer York Stock, vol. 3: Primary Sources, UXL, 2007, pp.

169-179. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2587000081/GVRL?

u=spri26149&sid=GVRL&xid=765a6d0 c. Accessed 13 Feb. 2021.

Morrill, J. (2021, January 28). Elizabeth I. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-I

Picard, L. (2019, December 19). Crime and punishment in Elizabethan England. Retrieved

February 11, 2021, from https://brewminate.com/crime-and-punishment-in-elizabethan-

england/

Rayon, A. (2016, April 8). Levels of social classes in the Elizabethan era - social classes in the

1500-1600's. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from

https://sites.google.com/a/pvlearners.net/social-class-in-the-1500-1600-s/levels-of-social-

classes-in-the-elizabethan-era