Medieval English police measure by which a community was divided into groups or tithings, each group responsible for the conduct of its members and for producing them in court if they committed a breach of the law. (Gies, Joseph and Francis. Life in a Medieval Castle, 226) The obligation of unfree men twelve years and older, to be sworn into tithings or groups of ten for the purpose of keeping the peace. The members of the tithing were responsible for one another's actions and had to report any crimes that came to their knowledge. Twice a year, the sheriff conducted a view of frankpledge to ensure that the tithings were kept full and at which the chief pledges, or heads of the tithings, reported crimes. (Waugh, Scott. England in the Reign of Edward III, 238) Police system by which every member of a tithing was responsible for the conduct of every other member. (Gies, Frances and Joseph. Life in a Medieval Village, 244) Related terms: View of Frankpledge
Frankpledge was an English institution in which units (often referred to as a tithing) of ten households were bound together and held responsible for one another's conduct. All men over 12 years of age were joined in groups of approximately ten households. This unit, under a leader known as the chief-pledge or tithing-man, was then responsible for producing any man of that tithing suspected of a crime.
