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Article THE SEGEEt SOOIEfM ← Page 4 of 10 →
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The Segeet Sooiefm
" secret f ^ hose who p resided over it were called scabmi , or assessors ( they are called echevins by Sir Francns Palgrave and Sir Walter Scott ) , they performed hidden i ^ es / an d judged rnalefacto ^
The greater part of the judges were unknown , and they used to make processes through the provinces , and cause offenders to be brought before their tribunal , and consider allegation by oath a suiBcient proof Goethe in his " Gotz of Berliehingen , " introduces the following sceney which may serve as an illustration of this point
:---a Senior Judge . —Judges of the Secret Tribunal---sworn by the cord and the steel to -be unpitying in justice , to judge in secret , and to avenge in secret—are your hands clean and hearts pure ? Raise them to heaven , and cry , Woe upon misdoers !' u AlL- ^ o & i Woe ! a Senior judges--Crier , begin the diet of judgment .
" Crier . —^ cry for ( accusation against misdoers . Whose heart is pure , and whose hand is de ^ cordfbi ^ - ^ vengeance , vengeance , vengeance ! " ^ ccms ^ and my hand clean from innocent blood . I raise my hand aloft , arid cry-vengeance , vengeance , vengeance I
u Semor fy 44 Accuser . — I call upon the cord and upon the steel for vengeance against Adela von Weislingen . She has committed adultery and murdershe has poisoned her ^ ^ ^^ by the hands of his servant The servant hath slain himself ; the husband is dead . u Senior J ^<^ e . - ~ --Swearest thou that thy accusation is true ? " Accuser . —I swear .
" Senior Judge . —Dost thou take upon thine own head the punishment of murder and adultery , should it be found false ? u Accuser . —I take it . u Senior Judge . —Your voices . '" Accuser . —Judges of the Secret Tribunal , what is your doom upon Adela von Weislingen , accused of murder and adultery ?
44 Senior Judge . —She shall die—shall die a bitter and a double death . By the double ' doom of the steel and of the cord shall she expiate the double misdeed . Raise your hands to heaven , and cry ' Woe unto her Be she given to the hand of the avenger ? " All—Woe , woe !
u Senior Judge . —Come forth , avenger ! Thou hast there the cord and the steel . Within eight days must thou take her from before the face of heaven ; wherever thou findest her , let her no longer cumber the ground . Judges ! ye that judge in secret and avenge in secret , may you keep your hearts from wickedness and your hands from innocent blood !"
The names of the condemned were written ma book , and the execution entrusted to the junior assessors . ' The accused , even if ignorant of his accusation and condemnation , was punished wherever he was fotmd . This tribunal however degenerated , for persons of the lowest condition were admitted , who presumed to meddle with civil affairs when their jurisdiction ought to have been confined solely and entirely to criminal proceedings . This account , given by iEneas Silvius , * is objected to by , some , oxr * Do Statu Europe sub Frederic © Iihperatore , cap . 29 ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Segeet Sooiefm
" secret f ^ hose who p resided over it were called scabmi , or assessors ( they are called echevins by Sir Francns Palgrave and Sir Walter Scott ) , they performed hidden i ^ es / an d judged rnalefacto ^
The greater part of the judges were unknown , and they used to make processes through the provinces , and cause offenders to be brought before their tribunal , and consider allegation by oath a suiBcient proof Goethe in his " Gotz of Berliehingen , " introduces the following sceney which may serve as an illustration of this point
:---a Senior Judge . —Judges of the Secret Tribunal---sworn by the cord and the steel to -be unpitying in justice , to judge in secret , and to avenge in secret—are your hands clean and hearts pure ? Raise them to heaven , and cry , Woe upon misdoers !' u AlL- ^ o & i Woe ! a Senior judges--Crier , begin the diet of judgment .
" Crier . —^ cry for ( accusation against misdoers . Whose heart is pure , and whose hand is de ^ cordfbi ^ - ^ vengeance , vengeance , vengeance ! " ^ ccms ^ and my hand clean from innocent blood . I raise my hand aloft , arid cry-vengeance , vengeance , vengeance I
u Semor fy 44 Accuser . — I call upon the cord and upon the steel for vengeance against Adela von Weislingen . She has committed adultery and murdershe has poisoned her ^ ^ ^^ by the hands of his servant The servant hath slain himself ; the husband is dead . u Senior J ^<^ e . - ~ --Swearest thou that thy accusation is true ? " Accuser . —I swear .
" Senior Judge . —Dost thou take upon thine own head the punishment of murder and adultery , should it be found false ? u Accuser . —I take it . u Senior Judge . —Your voices . '" Accuser . —Judges of the Secret Tribunal , what is your doom upon Adela von Weislingen , accused of murder and adultery ?
44 Senior Judge . —She shall die—shall die a bitter and a double death . By the double ' doom of the steel and of the cord shall she expiate the double misdeed . Raise your hands to heaven , and cry ' Woe unto her Be she given to the hand of the avenger ? " All—Woe , woe !
u Senior Judge . —Come forth , avenger ! Thou hast there the cord and the steel . Within eight days must thou take her from before the face of heaven ; wherever thou findest her , let her no longer cumber the ground . Judges ! ye that judge in secret and avenge in secret , may you keep your hearts from wickedness and your hands from innocent blood !"
The names of the condemned were written ma book , and the execution entrusted to the junior assessors . ' The accused , even if ignorant of his accusation and condemnation , was punished wherever he was fotmd . This tribunal however degenerated , for persons of the lowest condition were admitted , who presumed to meddle with civil affairs when their jurisdiction ought to have been confined solely and entirely to criminal proceedings . This account , given by iEneas Silvius , * is objected to by , some , oxr * Do Statu Europe sub Frederic © Iihperatore , cap . 29 ,