There were many strange quirks associated with the justice systems of the Crusader States. They were, after all, on the frontiers of Christendom and many aspects of their law books were arcane in the extreme.
Assaults, for instance, were so frequent that there were well-established and suitably gruesome procedures in place for dealing with them.
Punishments That Fit the Crime
Fines had to be paid if someone had been struck by ‘his hand or his foot or with a stick’. However, if the attack was more serious, the punishment could be more severe and tailored to fit the crime. If the assailant had used a weapon and inflicted a blow, say ‘from a sharpened weapon or an iron mace’, then the penalty was having a hand cut off. In the latter instance, because the penalties of guilt were so severe, the possibility of demanding trial by combat for determining that guilt was made available as well.
Similarly, and with a gruesomely literal sense of justice, the penalty for biting someone was a substantial fine or, if unpaid, having the two top front teeth knocked out. If the bite wound became severely infected, all four top front teeth were to be removed – and if the bite victim died, the perpetrator was to be hung. There was an established hierarchy of pain and punishment, mirroring the impact on the victim.
Animals and Medieval Justice
Animals also had their own special place in this legal backwater. The region was dominated by cavalry armies and controlled by social elites who fought as mounted warriors; good horseflesh was in high demand.
Stealing animals was the medieval equivalent of car theft, and stealing horses—the most valuable animals—was akin to grand theft auto. As always, the penalties, if you were caught, were harsh. Someone found guilty of stealing a horse, a donkey, or a mule would have a foot cut off for a first offence. In the unlikely event that anyone with one foot was still capable of stealing such a large animal, hanging was the penalty for getting caught a second and final time. Even stealing smaller animals, such as pigs, was often punishable by hanging.
Rustling in the Wild East
Some of these animal laws were endearingly peculiar to the Crusader States. One piece of Frankish legislation, for instance, included rules about the financial responsibilities of camel drivers for animals in their care. In an interesting aside, which is sadly indicative of the fragile conditions of frontier life in the Latin East, there were also specific statutes to legislate for livestock raids, and particularly for cattle stolen but then taken abroad into Muslim territory. Animals that were transported across the frontier but subsequently recovered could not be automatically reclaimed by their original owners; instead, they needed to pay appropriate compensation to the new Christian owners.
Rustling or theft was not always easy to prove, of course. Animals that were ‘lost’ and later found to have been illegally held by another person were subject to a fascinating sliding scale of penalties, reflecting the cultural and economic values placed on different animals. Fines ranged from 300 besants for a horse and 100 besants for a hawk or a mature falcon, down to 25 besants for a mule or donkey and, very unsentimentally, a single mark of silver for a dog.
Justice in the crusader states was certainly unusual.
Dr Steve Tibble is a graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge and London University. He is an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway College, University of London. Steve is a leading authority on warfare and violence in the crusading era.
By Steve Tibble
There were many strange quirks associated with the justice systems of the Crusader States. They were, after all, on the frontiers of Christendom and many aspects of their law books were arcane in the extreme.
Assaults, for instance, were so frequent that there were well-established and suitably gruesome procedures in place for dealing with them.
Punishments That Fit the Crime
Fines had to be paid if someone had been struck by ‘his hand or his foot or with a stick’. However, if the attack was more serious, the punishment could be more severe and tailored to fit the crime. If the assailant had used a weapon and inflicted a blow, say ‘from a sharpened weapon or an iron mace’, then the penalty was having a hand cut off. In the latter instance, because the penalties of guilt were so severe, the possibility of demanding trial by combat for determining that guilt was made available as well.
Similarly, and with a gruesomely literal sense of justice, the penalty for biting someone was a substantial fine or, if unpaid, having the two top front teeth knocked out. If the bite wound became severely infected, all four top front teeth were to be removed – and if the bite victim died, the perpetrator was to be hung. There was an established hierarchy of pain and punishment, mirroring the impact on the victim.
Animals and Medieval Justice
Animals also had their own special place in this legal backwater. The region was dominated by cavalry armies and controlled by social elites who fought as mounted warriors; good horseflesh was in high demand.
Stealing animals was the medieval equivalent of car theft, and stealing horses—the most valuable animals—was akin to grand theft auto. As always, the penalties, if you were caught, were harsh. Someone found guilty of stealing a horse, a donkey, or a mule would have a foot cut off for a first offence. In the unlikely event that anyone with one foot was still capable of stealing such a large animal, hanging was the penalty for getting caught a second and final time. Even stealing smaller animals, such as pigs, was often punishable by hanging.
Rustling in the Wild East
Some of these animal laws were endearingly peculiar to the Crusader States. One piece of Frankish legislation, for instance, included rules about the financial responsibilities of camel drivers for animals in their care. In an interesting aside, which is sadly indicative of the fragile conditions of frontier life in the Latin East, there were also specific statutes to legislate for livestock raids, and particularly for cattle stolen but then taken abroad into Muslim territory. Animals that were transported across the frontier but subsequently recovered could not be automatically reclaimed by their original owners; instead, they needed to pay appropriate compensation to the new Christian owners.
Rustling or theft was not always easy to prove, of course. Animals that were ‘lost’ and later found to have been illegally held by another person were subject to a fascinating sliding scale of penalties, reflecting the cultural and economic values placed on different animals. Fines ranged from 300 besants for a horse and 100 besants for a hawk or a mature falcon, down to 25 besants for a mule or donkey and, very unsentimentally, a single mark of silver for a dog.
Justice in the crusader states was certainly unusual.
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Dr Steve Tibble is a graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge and London University. He is an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway College, University of London. Steve is a leading authority on warfare and violence in the crusading era.
You can check out Steve’s other books: Templars: The Knights Who Made Britain, The Crusader Armies and The Crusader Strategy
Top Image: BNF MS Français 22495 fol. 154v.
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