Introduction to Early Medieval Britain
The remains of a woman around 1,200 years old, found on the banks of the river, have exposed the brutal punishment practices of early medieval Britain. London, between 600 and 800 AD, or Lundenwic, as it was known at the time, was a completely different place than today. The settlement, which covered the area of modern Covent Garden, consisted of narrow, winding roads and buildings made of wood and straw.
Life in Lundenwic
It had a population of around 8,000 people – far from the 9.26 million inhabitants who live there today. The remains of a Londoner, who lived in the early Middle Ages between 680 and 810 AD, act as an example of these practices. According to experts, the laws seemed to be executed on the streets, and their corpses had to decompose as a warning for others.
The Woman’s Remains
The woman, whose remains were classified as UPT90 SK 1278, was between 28 and 40 when she died. It was not buried, but was lying on a reed mat with moss pads that were placed on the face, pelvis, and knees between two beefs on a reed mat. When the woman was excavated for the first time in 1991, the archaeologists found that she was probably placed on the foreland of the Thames, where her remains were in public.
Funeral Treatment and Execution
The funeral treatment of UPT90 SK 1278 lets us know that her body should be visible in the landscape, which could be interpreted as a warning to witnesses. We can see from the osteobiography of this individual and its funeral treatment that they were executed, but the specific crime is not sure to know. We can only conclude from the legal codes of the time.
Injuries and Torture
Just two weeks before her death, the woman was torturing strokes and a later one execution. Her body was loaded with over 50 individual signs of injuries, with experts noting fractures on her shoulders and spine resembled that of a victim of a car accident. The researchers believe that the 9th-century woman may have been beaten or extended – where a victim is repeatedly hit with a whip or a stick.
Death Penalty in Early Medieval England
Early medieval England was a time of change in relation to legislative regulations – the legislative code of did not contain any physical punishment, but that of described specific punishment for instance, for those who could not pay any banknotes. Capital penalties were also included when they had been wanted by the king. Over time, more crimes were associated with the death penalty under King, which could be caused by stone driving or drowning.
Diet and Lifestyle
The woman’s diet consisted of terrestrial foods such as grain, vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy products, and eggs. However, her remains show a time with increased stable nitrogen values, at some point after her 5-year lifespan. This could mean that the woman either eaten more meat or suffered a time of hunger in which her body had broken down his own fat and protein memory. Hunger was a significant threat to London in the early Middle Ages, especially for those who had emigrated to the city.
