This was a very serious crime in Tudor times. Treason was defined as any crime against the monarch. If you believed something different to the king or queen, or tried to harm them or their servants in any way, you were convicted of treason. Petty treason was when you murdered someone you owed allegiance to, such as a husband or master. For this crime, you could be beheaded (your head cut off with an axe), burnt at the stake (burned alive in a fire) or hung, drawn and quartered (hung by the neck until nearly dead, then taken down and your intestines removed, and your body cut into four parts).
For nobles, or even members of the royal family who had committed treason, their form of execution was usually beheading. Anne Boleyn, the second of Henry VIII’s wives, was beheaded for this crime. Sometimes, the chopped-off head of a traitor would be put on a spike and displayed in public places to remind people of the dangers of committing a crime.
If you are looking for some ready-to-teach, fully-resourced lessons on the subject, take a look at our Crime and Punishment History scheme of work for years 5 and 6, or our The Tudors Topic for Years 3 and 4.
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