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
Teacher copy - includes the notes for whoever is teaching from it.
Learning Objectives
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.
Setting the Scene
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. | 1572 - Vagabonds Act: whipping and boring through the ear. | 1601 - Poor Law: every parish must look after its own poor.
Why Were There More Vagabonds?
Several changes pushed people off the land and onto the road.
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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. |
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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. |
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Bad harvests Failed harvests meant hunger and higher food prices. |
Soldiers Men returning from wars often came home with no work. |
Why Vagabonds Were Feared
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.
Laws Against Vagabondage
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 |
Punishing a Vagabond
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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. |
A vagabond whipped through the streets, sixteenth century. |
Sixteenth-century woodcut; public domain copies on Wikimedia Commons.
Thomas Harman on Vagabonds
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“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.
Deserving and Undeserving Poor
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DESERVING POOR |
UNDESERVING POOR |
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▸ 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. |
▸ Able-bodied people who did not work. ▸ Seen as lazy, sinful or criminal. ▸ Punished as vagabonds or made to work in houses of correction. |
Key Terms
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Vagabond A poor, able-bodied person who wandered from place to place without work. |
Vagrancy The crime of being a vagabond. |
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Enclosure Fencing off common land, often for sheep farming. |
Dissolution of the monasteries Henry VIII's closure of the monasteries, 1536-41. |
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House of correction A place where vagrants were made to work. |
Poor rate A local tax to support the deserving poor. |
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Counterfeit crank A beggar who pretended to be ill to get money. |
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Summary
✓ 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.
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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. |
Exam Practice - Vagabondage
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…
Question 1 · 4 marks · Explain one way
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“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.
Question 1 · mark scheme
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
▸ Model answer. Both Acts used painful, public physical punishments that marked the vagabond permanently. Under the 1547 Vagrancy Act vagabonds could be branded with a V and made slaves for two years, while under the 1572 Vagabonds Act they were whipped and had a hole burned through the ear. In both cases the mark was meant to shame the offender and warn others, so that anyone could see they had been a vagabond.
Question 2 · 12 marks · Explain why
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“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.
Question 2 · mark scheme
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
▸ Model answer. One reason was that the number of vagabonds grew rapidly, which alarmed the authorities. Population growth, rising prices and enclosure pushed people off the land, and the dissolution of the monasteries between 1536 and 1541 ended the charity many of the poor had relied on. Large numbers of poor people on the roads looked like a threat that had to be controlled. A second reason was fear of crime and disorder. Vagabonds were blamed for theft and for begging with tricks, and pamphlets such as Thomas Harman's Caveat of 1566 described them as cunning criminals. Groups of unemployed men could also join rebellions, such as Kett's Rebellion in 1549. That is why the Vagabonds Act of 1572 punished vagabonds by whipping and burning a hole through the ear, and allowed repeat offenders to be hanged. A third reason, beyond the stimulus, was religious and moral attitudes to work. People believed that able-bodied men who did not work were idle and sinful, so vagabondage was seen as a moral failing that deserved punishment. Parishes also did not want to pay for strangers, which is why vagabonds were sent back to where they came from.
Question 3 · 16 marks · How far do you agree?
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“"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.
Question 3 · mark scheme
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
▸ 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
▸ Model answer. On the one hand, fear of disorder was very important. Groups of poor, unemployed men could join rebellions, as in Kett's Rebellion in 1549, and vagabonds were blamed for theft and begging with tricks. Pamphlets such as Thomas Harman's Caveat of 1566 made them seem like a criminal underworld. Harsh public punishments - branding under the 1547 Act and ear boring under the 1572 Act - were designed to deter and to keep order. On the other hand, other reasons mattered too. Religious and moral attitudes taught that idleness was sinful, so able-bodied people who did not work were seen as deserving punishment. Money was another reason: parishes did not want to pay to support strangers, and the Poor Law of 1601 made each parish responsible for its own poor through the poor rate, separating the deserving poor, who were helped, from the undeserving, who were punished or made to work. Overall, fear of disorder was the main reason for the harshest laws, especially in the mid-sixteenth century when rebellion seemed a real danger. But by 1601 the authorities also saw poverty as a problem to be managed, so the reasons were a mixture of fear, moral attitudes and cost.