After Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries there was a large increase in the number of people forced to beg. Tudor rich men saw beggars as being at fault for their own problems. Punishment was severe for beggars, we found out that beggars sold their children when they were at a very young age for money. Beggars were poor people and often when rich people died their wills had a section to leave money to the poor.
We hope you have learnt something about the Tudors especially that they were gross! |
This term we have been researching Crime and Punishment in Tudor Wales. We have had lots of fun researching the Tudors and we have learned quite a lot. Here are some of the things we have learned:
This is a ducking stool. This was used on suspected witches. To be a suspected witch you had to grow a lot of herbs. The punishment for this crime was being put on a seesaw next to a river and when they dropped the weights the accused witch would then fall into the river. If they drowned they weren’t a witch, if they survived they were a witch and they burned alive. Which meant they would die either way!
These are examples of stocks and pillories. If a butcher sold bad meat, he would be put into the stocks, often on a busy street. Passers by would throw rotten food at the criminal. That’s why they were placed on a busy street, so more rotten food would get thrown.
When we visited the museum at Saint Fagan’s we saw a real scold’s bridle. Scold’s bridles were used on nagging wives. If a wife kept on nagging the husband about something the husband would put this tool on the wife and tie it to the wall and then if the wife spoke it would cut her tongue. This tool was very common in the Tudor times very common!| Back |