Entertainment
&
Crime & Punishment
Although many aspects of town life were difficult and people worked hard, they also participated in a number of leisure activities. They enjoyed quite a few days off from work, especially to celebrate the many religious holidays, fairs, and festivals. They were also entertained in other ways like we are today. For instance, children dolls, toys, swords, horses, rolled hoops, make believe, and more! Adults played chess, cards, checkers, backgammon, and more! They all often went to festivals, plays, dances, and other social activities. The gatherings took place at the center of the town.
Many days for holidays were taken off, especially Sundays. A popular form of entertainment took place called animal baiting. A bull or bear was tied to a pole by the neck or leg dogs attacked and tormented the bear.
Fair Days were very festive and full of jugglers, dancers, musicians, entertainers, costumes, colorful banners, plays, and more! Guilds staged mystery plays. These were plays from stories from the Bible, but the story generally was appropriate to their Guild trade. For instance, if the Guild sold boat parts or boats, they may act out the story of Noah's Ark, a story from the Bible. There were also miracle plays. These plays were about saints, miracles, and the wonders of the history of the world!
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Besides being unhealthy and filthy, medieval towns were noisy, smelly, crowded, and often unsafe.
During the day, there were pickpockets and thieves throughout the town. At night, the towns were extremely dangerous because there were no street lights, but only lights from the fires from the homes and businesses. In some cities there were night watchmen patrolling the streets with candles in hopes of discouraging crime.
People accused of crimes were often held in dirty, crowded jails. Prisoners had to rely on friends and family to be fed or for money. Otherwise, they would starve to death or be treated poorly. Wealthy people often left their money to the jails to help people in need.
In the Early Middle Ages, trial by ordeal was used to see if a person was guilty or innocent. A person was thrown in a well or water and if the person floated, they were "guilty" because the water rejected them. They were then punished.
Trial by combat was another way to see if people were innocent or guilty. During this, the accuse person had to fight to prove their innocence. People believed God would choose the rightful winner. Clergy, women, children, and the disabled could name someone to fight for them. If they won, they were innocent. If they lost, they were guilty.
Punishments for crimes were very harsh. For lesser crimes, people were fined or put in stocks. People were left in stocks for days with no food and humiliated allowing people to throw food and objects at them in the town square.
People found guilty of other crimes like robbery, stealing livestock, treason, murder, etc., were often burned or hanged in front of large crowds to show the punishments for such crimes were serious.
There were many other forms of punishment and torture too. In most parts of Europe, important nobles shared with monarchs to persecute crimes. In England by the 1100s, there were royal courts. The decisions decided by royal judges contributed to common law(s) that we still have today. Along with an independent court system, English common law would become an important safeguard of individual rights. Throughout Europe, court trials based on written and oral evidence replaced trial by ordeal and trail by combat and other ways of seeing if people were innocent or guilty.
