Thread by @doctorow

Maybe you think cops have been with us forever. Didn't Robin Hood tangle with the Sheriff of Nottingham?

Nope! Sweary medievalist @GoingMedieval: "historically in the global north an established police force... is an extremely new development."

going-medieval.com/2020/06/17/on-…

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In medieval Europe, communities were expected to raise a "hue and cry" when they witnessed a crime, bringing out people to apprehend the perpetrator and bring them to justice.

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"Elsewhere, adult men were organized into groups of ten called 'tithings' where each man in the group was tasked with bringing the others to justice if they committed a crime. "

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Watchmen (and women) were employed to raise an alarm when they saw crimes. Sheriffs would be called in when the community couldn't catch a criminal, and would draft men over 15 to serve in posses comitatus.

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"After 1250 villages would often appoint a Constable who was responsible for raising the hue and cry, a position that rotated yearly and was unpaid to ensure against both corruption and over work."

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Medieval justice was more restorative than punitive: "many acts which we would consider as crimes were addressed not through carceral measures, but as disputes which required resolution between the offender and the victims."

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Janega's at pains to point out that medieval justice had its own problems, especially "when the powerless and unconnected were found guilty of crimes committed against the powerful."

Rather, her point is that modern policing is MODERN, not an eternal and unchangeable factor.

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"Not only is this possible, it has happened in the past. It can happen again, but better. Let’s get to it."

eof/