From the WCF “Reclaiming the Middle Ages” files: here's an interesting “slide show” on the rule of law and punishment in the Middle Ages.  It sheds some light on issues which can be the subject of misconception.Medieval Torture's 10 Biggest MythsI believe an instructor I once had mentioned something about how today criminals in society are caught but are not punished severely, but in the Middle Ages few criminals were caught and so had to be punished harshly.  This article actually suggests that criminals of these times weren't necessarily handed severe punishments (relatively speaking) but had legal protections and were evidently afforded rights and mercy at times.  This is in contrast to the potential modern-day notion of oppressive rule of law back then.