THE CONTRACTUAL SOCIETY: SOCIAL CONTRACT, OATH, JURY, JUDGE —“At the heart of

THE CONTRACTUAL SOCIETY: SOCIAL CONTRACT, OATH, JURY, JUDGE

—“At the heart of the tenth-century law was the oath, taken by all freemen from the age of 12, to abstain from and denounce any major crime.

This common oath enshrined the sense of social community and responsibility that underpinned the law. In this light, theft was seen as an act of disloyalty. If you had broken your oath and committed a serious crime your entire kin could be punished.

King Athelstan, is reported saying to his councillors that he was concerned about the number of young people being executed under the death penalty, ‘as he sees everywhere is the case’.

The death penalty could be enforced on anyone 12 years old or over, but the king raised the age of criminal responsibility to 16 because, as he said simply, ‘it is too cruel’.

That, was around 930. But as late as the early 19th century there are cases of ten, nine and even eight year olds being executed for sheep stealing.”—