When we think of crime and punishment in the medieval period, we often think of a chaotic system of judgement, and brutal punishments, that seem out of proportion with the seriousness of the crime. In medieval Europe law and order was harsh. It was assumed that people would only behave well if they feared the penalty of breaking the law. There was a gibbet on the outskirts of most towns in England. There, criminals would be hanged, their bodies left to rot for many weeks as a stark warning as to the reality of breaking the law. In todays episode, we look at what it would be like to be a criminal in the middle ages!