Capital and Corporal Punishment in Anglo-Saxon England (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781843839187)

Anglo-Saxon authorities often punished lawbreakers with harsh corporal penalties, such as execution, mutilation and imprisonment. Despite their severity, however, these penalties were not arbitrary exercises of power. Rather, they were informed by nuanced philosophies of punishment which sought to resolve conflict, keep the peace and enforce Christian morality. The ten essays in this volume engage legal, literary, historical, and archaeological evidence to investigate the role of punishment in Anglo-Saxon society, looking at the shift from feud to top-down punishment; how punishment was used to enhance royal standing; and the intersection of secular punishment and penitential practice.

Author: Jay Paul Gates
ISBN-10: 1843839180
ISBN-13: 9781843839187
Publisher: Boydell Press
Language: English
Published: 07/17/2014
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.09lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.56d