Treason is an act of betrayal, generally used only of acts against the sovereign or the state to which a perpetrator owes allegiance.
The Roman senator Boethius wrote his influential work The Consolation of Philosophy in AD 523 while imprisoned on suspicion of treason by the Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great. Boethius apparently found himself on the wrong side in the succession dispute following the untimely death of Eutharic, Theodoric's announced heir. He was eventually found guilty and executed.
In England the Treason Act 1351 defined the principal treasons of being:
1. Compassing the wounding, imprisonment or death of the sovereign.
2. Seducing the King's wife or oldest daughter or the wife of the heir.
3. Levying war against the Sovereign in his realm.
4. Being adherent to the sovereigns enemies within the realm, giving them aid or comfort in the realm or elsewhere.
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| Treason broadside, 1859 |
The Roman senator Boethius wrote his influential work The Consolation of Philosophy in AD 523 while imprisoned on suspicion of treason by the Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great. Boethius apparently found himself on the wrong side in the succession dispute following the untimely death of Eutharic, Theodoric's announced heir. He was eventually found guilty and executed.
In England the Treason Act 1351 defined the principal treasons of being:
1. Compassing the wounding, imprisonment or death of the sovereign.
2. Seducing the King's wife or oldest daughter or the wife of the heir.
3. Levying war against the Sovereign in his realm.
4. Being adherent to the sovereigns enemies within the realm, giving them aid or comfort in the realm or elsewhere.
The punishment on conviction of treason is death.
The Treason Act of 1351 is still in force today in the United Kingdom and some former British colonies, including New South Wales, even though the law is written in Norman French and it concerns such things as violating the King's eldest daughter or killing Wardens of the Forest.
When Anne Boleyn only produced a daughter, Elizabeth, and no sons for Henry VIII, the English king blamed her for treason and had her beheaded by a French swordsman.
In 1589 The Roman Catholic cardinal Philip Howard was accused of treason having reputedly prayed for the success of the Spanish Armada. Despite the obvious fabrication of the story he was found guilty, though his life was spared as the courts decided that a prayer cannot be construed as treason.
During the American Revolution, Billy an enslaved man from Virginia, was charged with treason and sentenced to hang. He argued that as a slave, he was not a citizen and could not commit treason against a government to which he owed no allegiance. Billy was subsequently pardoned.
William Blake was involved in a physical altercation with a soldier, John Schofield, in August 1803. Schofield claimed that Blake had exclaimed "Damn the king. The soldiers are all slaves." As a result, the poet was charged not only with assault, but with treason against the king. Blake was later cleared of the charge.
While Master of the Royal Mint, Sir Isaac Newton personally went undercover in bars and taverns to root out rampant counterfeiting, which was legally high treason. He successfully prosecuted 28 counterfeiters in 18 months.
In English law, high treason was punishable by being hanged, drawn and quartered (men) or burnt at the stake (women). Those penalties were abolished in 1814 and 1790 respectively.
American abolitionist John Brown advocated the use of armed insurrection to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. He was the first person convicted and hanged for treason in the United States after attempting to lead a slave rebellion in 1859.
William Joyce, aka Lord Haw-Haw, was the last civilian in Britain to be hanged for treason. His "Jairmany Calling" broadcasts delivered in an upper-class drawl had been part of the very fabric of the Home Front during World War II. Nearly as many people listened to his broadcasts as to the BBC. Even the young princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, used to tune in.
Joyce was captured on the Danish-German border on May 29, 1945. Passing two British Army officers who were gathering sticks in a wood near the German border, Joyce remarked that he too often collected firewood there. One officer said: "You're William Joyce — I'd know your voice anywhere." He became the last civilian in Britain to be hanged for treason when he was killed on January 3, 1946.
In the USA season is defined in article III section 3 of the constitution. "Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason."
The punishment for treason in the United States is death or at least five years in prison, and at least a $10,000 fine. In addition, traitors cannot hold any office in the United States.
Source Hutchinson Encyclopedia
The Treason Act of 1351 is still in force today in the United Kingdom and some former British colonies, including New South Wales, even though the law is written in Norman French and it concerns such things as violating the King's eldest daughter or killing Wardens of the Forest.
When Anne Boleyn only produced a daughter, Elizabeth, and no sons for Henry VIII, the English king blamed her for treason and had her beheaded by a French swordsman.
 |
| Charges read to Anne Boleyn |
In 1589 The Roman Catholic cardinal Philip Howard was accused of treason having reputedly prayed for the success of the Spanish Armada. Despite the obvious fabrication of the story he was found guilty, though his life was spared as the courts decided that a prayer cannot be construed as treason.
During the American Revolution, Billy an enslaved man from Virginia, was charged with treason and sentenced to hang. He argued that as a slave, he was not a citizen and could not commit treason against a government to which he owed no allegiance. Billy was subsequently pardoned.
William Blake was involved in a physical altercation with a soldier, John Schofield, in August 1803. Schofield claimed that Blake had exclaimed "Damn the king. The soldiers are all slaves." As a result, the poet was charged not only with assault, but with treason against the king. Blake was later cleared of the charge.
While Master of the Royal Mint, Sir Isaac Newton personally went undercover in bars and taverns to root out rampant counterfeiting, which was legally high treason. He successfully prosecuted 28 counterfeiters in 18 months.
In English law, high treason was punishable by being hanged, drawn and quartered (men) or burnt at the stake (women). Those penalties were abolished in 1814 and 1790 respectively.
 |
| Engraving depicting the execution of Sir Thomas Armstrong in 1684, who was hanged, drawn and quartered. |
American abolitionist John Brown advocated the use of armed insurrection to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. He was the first person convicted and hanged for treason in the United States after attempting to lead a slave rebellion in 1859.
William Joyce, aka Lord Haw-Haw, was the last civilian in Britain to be hanged for treason. His "Jairmany Calling" broadcasts delivered in an upper-class drawl had been part of the very fabric of the Home Front during World War II. Nearly as many people listened to his broadcasts as to the BBC. Even the young princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, used to tune in.
Joyce was captured on the Danish-German border on May 29, 1945. Passing two British Army officers who were gathering sticks in a wood near the German border, Joyce remarked that he too often collected firewood there. One officer said: "You're William Joyce — I'd know your voice anywhere." He became the last civilian in Britain to be hanged for treason when he was killed on January 3, 1946.
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| Joyce shortly after capture, 1945 |
In the USA season is defined in article III section 3 of the constitution. "Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason."
The punishment for treason in the United States is death or at least five years in prison, and at least a $10,000 fine. In addition, traitors cannot hold any office in the United States.
Source Hutchinson Encyclopedia
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