Crimes and offenses in a medieval world such as a Dungeons and Dragons campaign could be various depending upon the severity. Minor offenses might be punished in the following ways:
- Imprisonment
- Whipping
- Payment of fines
- Forfeiture of estates
- Being placed in the stocks
- Pillory – Similar to stocks but stocks held only the legs and the Pillory framework held the neck and wrists as well
- Branding
- Removal of a body part such as a hand or foot
More serious offenses resulted in capitol punishment. Hanging was the norm but occasionally burning was used.
So why is this important for Dungeons and Dragons? Sooner or later player characters will visit cities. Public punishment was frequently on display. Anyone visiting such a medieval city would likely see examples of such punishment being used. It is important to the flavor of the campaign for city life to seem realistic.
Of course such punishments were often meted out by a trial by jury. These jury trials were part of a manorial court held several times a year. Villagers made up these juries but only men would actually sit on the jury.
More serious crimes were judged by a King’s Court. This was known as a Trial by Ordeal. There were three types of these Trials by Ordeal:
- Ordeal by Fire – The accused had to pick up a red hot bar and carry it several paces. They then had their hands bandaged and returned to the court after three days. If their hands were showing signs of healing then they were judged innocent.
- Ordeal by Water – The accused had their hands and feet tied and were thrown into water. If they floated they were guilty. If they sank then they were innocent.
- Ordeal by Combat – Noblemen would sometimes fight (usually to the death). The winner was considered to be in the right.
There were also some very strange punishments that were meted out during those times. Some are peculiar. Others were still very deadly. Here are some of the most bizarre ones used:
- Apologizing while wearing a white sheet
- Wearing animal masks and humiliating badges
- Being thrown into water while tied to a stool
- Wearing a custom made bridle
- Plucking a stone out of boiling water
- Being suffocated in mud
- Hanging in a cage
- Having a metal pear poked up the wazzoo
And then of course….there was torture. Torture was not considered punishment per se but a means to extract a confession. But that is the basis of a different article on this site.
