Something a bit different today from 1283 France. Common laws from the Beauvais region written by the jurist Philippe de Beaumanoir. Discuss amongst yourselves, I though they were quite interesting (see what I did there?)
Something fairly sensible to begin with:
“1180. Those who are at war or in such a feud [en haine] that they do not speak to the
person against whom they are called to testify can certainly be excluded from
testifying, for it would be cruel thing if those who are at war against me or
in such great hatred that they do not speak to me should be heard to testify
against me”
Now something a little more interesting, especially considering the disputes religious men and women often got themselves intangled in regarding property:
“1210. No man in religion and no women in religion, or
whatever order, may be allowed to testify for their house in a secular court or
against a layperson."
This one just caught my eye as I immediately imagined corrupt lawyers trying to testify in their own cases to win:
“1199. Attorneys and lawyers and counsel cannot give
testimony in cases in which they are attorneys and lawyers and counsel”
- and finally some much abused lepers and bastards:
“1177. A leper [meseaus]
should not be heard giving testimony, for the custom is settled that they
should be excluded from intercourse [conversacion]
with other people.”
"1176. Bastards and serfs must be excluded from testifying unless the suit is against a serf or a bastard, for they cannot exclude those of their own condition. But if they are called against a free person and they are challenged, they must not be heard."
Notes
The Coutumes de Beauvaisis of Philippe de Beaumanoir, trans. F. Akehurst (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992) pp. 427, 437, 426
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