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Vagabondage - Teacher Slides.pptx
The lesson slides with the teacher's notes on each slide, and every question and mark scheme built in. Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026.
EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Vagabondage
c1500-c1700
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Learning Objectives
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
1
Explain why the number of poor, wandering people increased in the sixteenth century.
2
Describe the laws against vagabondage and the punishments they set.
3
Explain why vagabonds were feared, and how attitudes to the poor changed by 1601.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Setting the Scene
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
In the 1500s, growing numbers of poor people took to the roads looking for work. The authorities called them vagabonds or vagrants, and many feared them as thieves and troublemakers. Being poor, able-bodied and without work in your own parish became a crime.
1531
A law separates the "impotent" poor, who may beg with a licence, from able-bodied beggars, who are whipped.
1536-41
The dissolution of the monasteries ends much of the charity the poor relied on.
1547
Vagrancy Act: vagabonds can be branded and made slaves for two years.
1566
Thomas Harman's pamphlet describes the "tricks" of vagabonds.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Setting the Scene (cont.)
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
1572
Vagabonds Act: whipping and boring through the ear.
1601
Poor Law: every parish must look after its own poor.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Why Were There More Vagabonds?
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
Several changes pushed people off the land and onto the road.
Population growth
The population grew fast, so there were more people than jobs.
Rising prices
Prices rose much faster than wages, pushing families into poverty.
Enclosure
Landowners fenced off land for sheep, so fewer farm workers were needed.
The monasteries
Their dissolution (1536-41) ended the food and shelter they had given the poor.
Bad harvests
Failed harvests meant hunger and higher food prices.
Soldiers
Men returning from wars often came home with no work.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Why Vagabonds Were Feared
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
The authorities saw wandering poor people as a threat to order.
Crime
Vagabonds were blamed for theft and begging with tricks - pretending to be sick or injured.
Rebellion
Groups of poor, unemployed men could join rebellions, as in Kett's Rebellion in 1549.
Burden
Towns did not want to pay to support strangers from other parishes.
Idleness
People believed that able-bodied men who did not work were lazy and sinful.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Laws Against Vagabondage
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
The laws grew harsher, then began to separate the deserving from the undeserving poor.
Law
What it did
Punishment
1531 Act
Licensed the impotent poor to beg
Able-bodied beggars whipped
1547 Vagrancy Act
Treated able-bodied vagrants as criminals
Branded with a V and two years as a slave; repealed in 1550
1572 Vagabonds Act
Vagabonds punished; parishes to collect for the deserving poor
Whipped and a hole burned through the ear; repeat offenders could be hanged
1576 Act
Houses of correction set up
Vagrants made to work
1601 Poor Law
Each parish must support its own poor through a poor rate
Able-bodied poor made to work; beggars punished
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Punishing a Vagabond
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
A vagabond whipped through the streets, sixteenth century.
Sixteenth-century woodcut; public domain copies on Wikimedia Commons.
Punishments for vagabondage were public and painful. They were meant to shame the vagabond, warn others, and send them back to their own parish.
TUDOR PUNISHMENTS
Whipping
Tied to a cart and whipped until bloody.
Branding
A V burned into the skin under the 1547 Act.
Ear boring
A hole burned through the ear under the 1572 Act.
Houses of correction
Hard work for the able-bodied idle.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Thomas Harman on Vagabonds
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
“
These rowsey, ragged rabblement of rakehells... lurk in every corner, deceiving the people.
— Adapted from Thomas Harman, A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors, Vulgarly Called Vagabonds, 1566
WHAT IT SHOWS
Harman described vagabonds as cunning tricksters, such as "counterfeit cranks" who faked illness - pamphlets like his made people see the poor as criminals rather than victims.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Deserving and Undeserving Poor
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
DESERVING POOR
• The old, sick, disabled and orphaned.
• Could not work through no fault of their own.
• Given relief by their parish, paid for by the poor rate.
UNDESERVING POOR
• Able-bodied people who did not work.
• Seen as lazy, sinful or criminal.
• Punished as vagabonds or made to work in houses of correction.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Key Terms
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
Vagabond
A poor, able-bodied person who wandered from place to place without work.
Vagrancy
The crime of being a vagabond.
Enclosure
Fencing off common land, often for sheep farming.
Dissolution of the monasteries
Henry VIII's closure of the monasteries, 1536-41.
House of correction
A place where vagrants were made to work.
Poor rate
A local tax to support the deserving poor.
Counterfeit crank
A beggar who pretended to be ill to get money.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Summary & Exam Focus
Economic and social change pushed more people onto the roads.
Vagabonds were feared as thieves and potential rebels.
Punishments included whipping, branding and ear boring.
The 1601 Poor Law separated the deserving poor from the undeserving.
EXAM FOCUS
Explain why vagabondage was seen as a serious crime in the sixteenth century. (12 marks)
Explain the fears behind the laws - crime, rebellion, the cost to parishes - not just the causes of poverty.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Exam Practice - Vagabondage
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
Answer all questions. Use specific names, dates and examples in every answer. · 35 minutes
Question 1 · 4 marks · Explain one way
Explain one way in which the punishment of vagabonds under the Vagrancy Act of 1547 was similar to the punishment of vagabonds under the…
Question 2 · 12 marks · Explain why
Explain why vagabondage was seen as a serious crime in the sixteenth century. You may use the following in your answer: the dissolution of…
Question 3 · 16 marks · How far do you agree?
"Fear of disorder was the main reason vagabondage was treated as a crime in the sixteenth century." How far do you agree? Explain your…
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Question 1 · 4 marks · Explain one way
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
“
Explain one way in which the punishment of vagabonds under the Vagrancy Act of 1547 was similar to the punishment of vagabonds under the Vagabonds Act of 1572.
HOW TO ANSWER IT
Command word: Explain one way. Worth 4 marks, so plan before writing.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Question 1 · mark scheme
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
4 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
A valid similarity identified
1-2 marks
Supported with specific knowledge of both Acts
3-4 marks
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Question 2 · 12 marks · Explain why
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
“
Explain why vagabondage was seen as a serious crime in the sixteenth century. You may use the following in your answer: the dissolution of the monasteries; the Vagabonds Act (1572). You must also use information of your own.
HOW TO ANSWER IT
Command word: Explain why. Worth 12 marks, so plan before writing.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Question 2 · mark scheme
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
12 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
Level 1 (1-3)
A simple or general answer
Level 2 (4-6)
Some explanation of one or more reasons, with some knowledge
Level 3 (7-9)
A developed explanation linked to the question, with accurate knowledge
Level 4 (10-12)
An analytical explanation of several reasons, with knowledge that goes beyond the stimulus points
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Question 3 · 16 marks · How far do you agree?
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
“
"Fear of disorder was the main reason vagabondage was treated as a crime in the sixteenth century." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. You may use the following in your answer: Kett's Rebellion (1549); the Poor Law (1601). You must also use information of your own. (16 marks, plus 4 for…
HOW TO ANSWER IT
Command word: How far do you agree?. Worth 16 marks, so plan before writing.
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Question 3 · mark scheme
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
16 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
Level 1 (1-4)
A simple or generalised answer
Level 2 (5-8)
Some analysis, with a judgement that is asserted
Level 3 (9-12)
Analysis of both sides with accurate knowledge and a supported judgement
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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Question 3 · mark scheme (cont.)
Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700
Lesson 3 of 5
Level 4 (13-16)
Sustained analysis, knowledge beyond the stimulus, and a clear, justified judgement
SPaG (4)
Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar, with specialist terms such as vagabondage and enclosure
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