Law and Contact with Asia Presentation By: Tate, Jason, Julie, Peter, Eric, Christina, and Mehrshad

Medieval Law -Manor Courts -Royal Courts -Church Courts

Manor Courts Manor Courts deal with minor crimes regarding the Manor. The villagers are the jurors of the manor court. Witnesses were important Everyone, including the serfs, have the right to sue (to seek compensation for a personal wrong).

Skit for the Manor Court *Peter dumps manure on Eric *Peter goes to court *Peter is convicted of dumping manure on another person and is forced to plough Eric’s land and share his crops

Royal Courts Dealt with serious crimes Could execute people Operated under common law

Skit for Royal Court + Trial by Ordeal *Eric murders Jason *Eric goes to court *Eric goes through Trial by Ordeal *Eric dies, and is convicted guilty of murder

Trial by Ordeal and Trial by Battle Trial by Ordeal & Manor were ways to decide whether someone was guilty or not

Trial by Ordeal Person had to undergo dangerous task (poison, burning, etc.) Infected burning or poison disease means person is guilty Uninfected burn or no effects from poison means person is innocent

Trial by Battle Two noblemen fought to death Survivor was innocent Women chose men to battle on their behalf

Skit for Trial by Battle *Julie and Kevin steal Christina’s money, Mehrshad witnesses it. *Julie, Kevin, and Christina go to court *Julie and Kevin decide to resolve this case by Trial by Battle *Julie and Kevin choose Jason to fight on their behalf, Christina chooses Eric. Eric defeats Jason, and Julie and Kevin are convicted guilty of theft Mehrshad executes Julie and Kevin

Church Court More lenient than the Royal Courts Could only try members of the clergy Could not hand out death sentences All members of clergy could read and write, so criminals tried to educate themselves

Contact with Asia Road from Europe to Asia was Silk Road In 1255, Nicolo and Maffeo Polo went along the Silk Road Marco Polo was the first European to travel to China

Quiz Time (Answers on next slide) What are the 3 courts from the medieval days? What types of crimes did the Manor Court deal with? Who could sue in the Manor Court? What kind of crimes did the Royal Court deal with? What law did the Royal Court operate under? Explain Trial by Ordeal Explain Trial by Battle Could the Church Court execute people? What is the name of the road that connected Europe and Asia? Who was the first European to travel to China?

Answers Manor Court, Royal Court, and Church Court Crimes regarding the Manor Anyone could sue in a Manor Court Major crimes, such as theft or murder The common law The person would have to undergo a dangerous task, such as poisoning or burning. If there are no after-effects, the person is innocent; after-effects from the ordeal means that the person is guilty The people would have to choose people to fight on their behalf (only men could be chosen); the survivor proves their master`s innocence since God only protects innocent people No The Silk Road Marco Polo