首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Community courts and community justice prevailed in England at the time of the Norman Conquest (1066). The legal system was ritu
Community courts and community justice prevailed in England at the time of the Norman Conquest (1066). The legal system was ritu
admin
2011-03-10
51
问题
Community courts and community justice prevailed in England at the time of the Norman Conquest (1066). The legal system was ritualistic, dependent upon oaths at most stages of litigation, and permeated by both religious and superstitious notions. The proceedings were oral, very personal, and highly confrontative. Juries were unknown. One party publicly "appealed," or accused, the other before the community meeting at which the presence of both was obligatory. To be absent meant risking fines and outlawry. After the preliminary statements of the parties, the court rendered judgment, not on the merits of the issue nor the question of guilt or innocence, but on the manner by which it should be resolved. Judgment in other words preceded trial because it was a decision on what form the trial should take. It might be by compurgation, by ordeal, or, after the Norman Conquest, by battle. Excepting trial by battle, only one party was tried or, more accurately, was put to his "proof." Proof being regarded as an advantage, it was usually awarded to the accused party; in effect he had the privilege of proving his own case.
Trial by compurgation consisted of a sworn statement to the truth of one’s claim or denial, supported by the oaths of a certain number of fellow swearers. Presumably they, no more than the claimant, would endanger their immortal souls by the sacrilege of false swearing. Originally the oath-helpers swore from their own knowledge to the truth of the party’s claim. Later they became little more than character witnesses, swearing only to their belief that his oath was trustworthy. If he rounded up the requisite number of compurgators and the cumbrous swearing in very exact form proceeded without a mistake, he won his case. A mistake "burst" the oath, proving guilt.
Ordeals were usually reserved for more serious crimes, for persons of bad reputation, for peasants, or for those caught with stolen goods. As an invocation of immediate divine judgment, ordeals were consecrated by the Church and shrouded with solemn religious mystery. The accused underwent a physical trial in which he called upon God to witness his innocence by putting a miraculous sign upon his body. Cold water, boiling water, and hot iron were the principal ordeals, all of which the clergy administered. In the ordeal of cold water, the accused was trussed up and cast into a pool to see whether he would sink or float. On the theory that water which had been sanctified by a priest would receive an innocent person but reject the guilty, innocence was proved by sinking -- and hopefully a quick retrieval -- guilt by floating. In the other ordeals, one had to plunge his hand into a cauldron of boiling water or carry a red hot piece of iron for a certain distance, in the hope that three days later, when the bandages were removed, the priest would find a "clean" wound, one that was healing free of infection~ How deeply one plunged his arm into the water, how heavy the iron or great the distance it was carried, depended mainly on the. gravity of the charge.
The Normans brought to England still another ordeal, trial by battle, paradigm of the adversary system, which gave to the legal concept of "defense" or "defendant" a physical meaning. Trial by battle was a savage yet sacred method of proof which was also thought to involve divine intercession on behalf of the righteous. Rather than let a wrongdoer triumph, God would presumably strengthen the arms of the party who had sworn truly to the justice of his cause. Right, not might, would therefore conquer. Trial by battle was originally available for the settlement of all disputes but eventually was restricted to cases of serious crime.
Whether one proved his case by compurgation, ordeal, or battle, the method was accusatory in character. There was always a definite and known accuser, some private person who brought formal suit and openly confronted his antagonist. There was never any secrecy in the proceedings, which were the same for criminal as for civil litigation. The judges, who had no role whatever in the making of the verdict, decided only which party should be put to proof and what its form should be; thereafter the judges merely enforced an observance of the rules. The oaths that saturated the proceedings called upon God to witness to the truth of the respective claims of the parties, or the justice of their cause, or the reliability of their word. No one gave testimonial evidence nor was anyone questioned to test his veracity.
According to the passage, an oath was declared "burst" during compurgation if the ______.
选项
A、swearer made an error in the exact form of the required ritual
B、swearer could not round up the required number of oath-helpers
C、swearer preferred trial by ordeal, or by battle
D、judges decided that the oath was false or unnecessary
答案
A
解析
此题为细节题。此题定位在第二段,答案在最后两句,“If he rounded up the requisite number of compurgators and the cumbrous swearing in very exact form proceeded without a mistake, he won his case. A mistake "burst" the oath, proving guilt.”据此我们可以判断出A为最佳答案。B为干扰项,C和D不是本题所解。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/RTYO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
A、coffeeB、stoutC、brandyD、freshmilkB
A、692million.B、25.25billion.C、330million.D、358million.A
Weallknowthatprogramminglanguageisthesystemofsyntax,grammar,andsymbolsorwordsusedtogiveinstructionstoacomp
Teenagersareunderalotofpressuretobethin.Theyareledtobelievethattheonlywaytheycanbeacceptedandfitin,is
StatisticⅠ.Thedefendantisguiltyornot?Expert:1)ADNAsample【1】______defendant’s.
ScotlandYard’stopfingerprintexpert,DetectiveChiefSuperintendentGeraldLambournehadarequestfromtheBritishMuseum’s
A、theysufferfromamnesia.B、theyarenotorganized.C、theyhavetoomanythings.D、theyareofteninahurry.B
Maplesarealwaysusedtosymbolize______.
Lastweek’sdisappointingunemploymentreporthasrefocusedattentiononthequestionofwhy,despitemodestsignsofeconomicr
Lastweek’sdisappointingunemploymentreporthasrefocusedattentiononthequestionofwhy,despitemodestsignsofeconomicr
随机试题
2021年3月,人社部、国家市场监督管理总局、国家统计局联合发布了18个新职业信息。新技术催生新职业,下列对应错误的是()。
提高小儿脑瘫治疗疗效的关键是
《中国药典》中质量控制成分为香豆素类()。
朱砂最适于心火亢盛之心神不宁,因其具有镇心安神,清热解毒之功效。()
沥青混合料中沥青含量试验,可以采用离心分离法和燃烧炉法,离心分离法可以直接得出试验结果,但是操作复杂、溶剂会影响环境:燃烧炉法效率高、但事前必须标定。()
下列关于施工组织设计中的降低成本额的说法是()。
海关在口岸放行环节的工作重点是对通关程序中的()环节的工作进行复核。
学生进行自主学习、教师提供支持的课堂氛围属于()课堂气氛。
民主革命纲领的制定是在()上。
DaylightSavingTimebeginat2a.m.______intheUnitedStateseveryyear.
最新回复
(
0
)