We're all familiar with the legendary ideal of outlaws like Robin Hood. Living on the outskirts
of English society, robbing from the wealthy, and giving to the poor. Based on such tales,
one might assume that being an outlaw in the medieval era was synonymous with
being a criminal -- but this is far from the case. Being an outlaw was terrifying,
because you were literally declared to be 'outside' the protection of the 'law.' In short,
if you were an outlaw and someone were to murder you, that person wouldn't face legal consequences.
The same thing goes for any other crime you can think of. Possessions, money, and any land you
once owned also became forfeit the moment you were declared an outlaw. It was almost like the purge,
but it only applied to you. Being declared a felon in most countries today is much different.
Committing a serious offense in most modern nations might result in a lengthy prison sentence,
but the system of laws still theoretically applies to you. Just because you're on trial for robbery,
for example, it wouldn't be legally permissible for someone to break into the courthouse and
shoot you with an arrow... to put it bluntly but in medieval Europe, if you were an outlaw you had
no such right to safety. Examining the text of the medieval common law of England,
a Wirt of Outlary made with respect to you Kaput Lupinum. literally meaning 'let his be a wolf's
head.' Legally speaking, the term essentially equates you with a wolf, or any other wild beast
in the eyes of the law. It's a roundabout way of indicating anyone who felt keen to hunt you down
as if you were an animal would face no punishment for it. Indeed there was often some reward,
either social or economic, for doing so. But outlaws weren't just hunted by random citizens.
As fugitives, outlaws were pursued by county sheriffs and other forms of feudal
law enforcement which were notoriously brutal. Furthermore, it was actually illegal for anyone,
even family members, to give you aid: including basic necessities like food and shelter.
Once a Wirt of Outlawry had been declared, life was extremely rough. The crazy history of Outlawry
extends all the way back to ancient Roman laws of exile. The penalty was then referred to as 'homo
sacer,' Latin for the accursed one, and meant -- as with medieval society -- the unlucky individual
was forced from civilization and deprived of all civic rights. Exile also included
the related punishment of 'aqua at igni interdictus:' literally translating as
to 'forbid water and fire. This imposing addendum meant what it implies: codifying the illegality of
providing outlaws with basic necessities, pretty similar to medieval laws around offering aid.
Examining the history of outlawry in other countries, in early Germanic law, the death
penalty is notably absent altogether, with being made an outlaw the most severe punishment.
Since the label was so dangerous, this makes a grim amount of sense.
Being made an outlaw was, essentially, a fate worse than death. Much later in the 16th century,
the German concept of 'vogelfrei' took on a similar meaning. The denotation of the term
is similar to 'free as a bird,' which began as a positive description implying independence.
With time however, being a vogelfrei meant you had the same legal rights as a bird,
or beast, due to criminal actions. And as with other cultures, meant your days were numbered.
Exactly what constitutes a crime serious enough to be made in outlaw depended on the culture and
time period, with everything from robbery, to murder, to not showing up for court when
summoned being listed as examples. The legendary outlaw of English folklore robin hood might have
certainly faced such a punishment were he a real historical figure in 13th or 14th century CE,
making the character a bit more hardcore than he's often remembered.
A notable historic outlaw is Norse warrior Eric the Red, who is exiled in 982 CE for killing
another member of his community. ot interested in sticking around to be potentially killed, while
an outlaw he sailed north and might have helped discover Greenland. Pretty interesting stuff.
Going full circle and returning to English common law, the outlaw punishment is thankfully no longer
in effect in the modern day. Funnily enough though, the law wasn't officially abolished
in England until as late as 1938: although the concept was already obsolete, and wasn't actually
being used. Still, there's something interesting about the fact that outlaw punishment technically
survived all the way up until the invention of the car. Were the punishment of outlawry brought
back today, it would be extremely terrifying in our modern society, so we can all be glad
we don't live in the medieval era. And that's where a discussion of ancient outlaws reaches
its conclusion. I hope you enjoyed learning about a law -- I think we can all agree -- wouldn't be
too nice to have applied to you. Please consider subscribing and leaving this video a like if
you enjoyed the content. Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you in the next video.