Insulting or
assaulting a city dignitary was a very serious crime; an attack on
the mayor was once capitally punished. Sacrilege, rape, and
burglary were punished by death. Apart from the death penalty, the
punishment meted out the most was public exposure in the pillory,
with some mark of ignominy slung round the neck. If the crime was
selling bad food, it was burnt under the offender's nose. If it
was sour wine, the offender was drenched in it. Standing in the
pillory for even one hour was very humiliating, and by the end of
the day, it was known throughout the city. The offender's
reputation was ruined. Some men died in the pillory of shame and
distress. A variation of the pillory was being dragged through the
streets on a hurdle. Prostitutes were carted through the streets
in coarse rough cloth hoods, with penitential crosses in their
hands. Scolds were exposed in a "thewe" for women. In more serious
cases, imprisonment for up to a year was added to the pillory.
Mutilation was rare, but there are cases of men losing their right
hands for rescuing prisoners. The death penalty was usually by
hanging. The following four London cases pertain to customs, bad
grain, surgery, and apprenticeship, respectively.
"John le Paumer was summoned to answer Richer de Refham, Sheriff,
in a plea that, whereas the defendant and his Society of Bermen
[carriers] in the City were sworn not to carry any wine, by land
or water, for the use of citizens or others, without the Sheriff's
mark, nor lead nor cause it to be led, whereby the Sheriff might
be defrauded of his customs, nevertheless he caused four casks of
wine belonging to Ralph le Mazun of Westminster to be carried from
the City of Westminster without the Sheriff's mark, thus
defrauding the latter of his customs in contempt of the king etc.
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