Treatment of thieves then and now
“Now, it can be told that if someone steals food who is unable to get work to support themselves, and so, on account of hunger, saves their life, that theft is by no means worthy of punishment.”
Thieves’ Section, chapter 1
The older provincial laws before the Laws of the Land describe an almost merciless practice of punishing theft. Thieves were usually to be executed or banished, in addition to facing fines paid through the confiscation of property. There was little distinction between different kinds of thieves and theft. The Laws of the Land, which recognized differences in the seriousness of thefts and stipulated punishments accordingly, marked a radical departure from earlier legal praxis.
Fines were preferred to corporal punishment and there was a high threshold for using death penalty. If one was hungry and in need, one could escape punishment altogether. The Laws of the Land clearly describe a lenient penal system compared to the older provincial laws. A contributing factor to this may be that King Magnus was inspired by the Franciscans’ mercy and care for the poor. When Christian V’s Norwegian Code replaced the Laws of the Land in 1687, physical punishment – flogging and branding – became the standard punishment for theft. In the event of repeated or serious theft, one could be convicted to lifelong penal servitude. If one escaped and continued to steal, one could be hanged.
As a clear warning, branding irons were often shaped like gallows. Hanging, branding, and flogging of thieves were abolished in 1789. Today, theft is categorized into snatching, petty theft, theft, and aggravated theft. In most cases theft is punishable by fines. Only the biggest and most serious thefts are punishable by prison sentences.
Today, we look at the corporal punishment methods of the past with horror. People in the Middle Ages would probably have been equally bemused by today’s extensive use of deprivation of freedom as punishment and reform. In the Middle Ages, prison was almost unknown, although one could be held in custody until trial and judgement. The deprivation of liberty came with later ideas.
