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Article THE SECRET SOCIETIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES ← Page 8 of 11 →
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The Secret Societies Of The Middle Ages
" Such is also my command , " exclaimed the chief judge , who Avas ever anxious to adopt proceedings which mig ht impair the influence and weaken the authority of the Yehm—a feeling in which all the legally appointed judicial authorities in Germany shared . "Hesitate not—pause not—show no mercy ' . " ho continued ; " and should there be any member of that unholy and illegal confederation now present "
, he added , "let him take warning from the course which the only true j ustice recognised in the laud is now about to take . " So profound an impression of terror hacl this bold proceeding on the part of the baron and the chief judge produced amongst the guests , that not a voice—not even a female voice—was raised to implore mercy for the prisoner .
The next portion of this terrible drama is to be found in a scene on the ramparts of tho castle . " Thus does justice overtake the cowardly menials of the Yehm !" said a voice close by the count " True , " replied the count , who immediately recognized the chief judge . " But methinks , you should know the wretch that is
hangingthere . " " I ! " ejaculated the chief judge : " nay , that is scarcely probable , my lord . "
" Approach , and let us see , " said the count , and hastened up the steps leading from tho rampart to the top of the tower . The chief judge followed him . "NOAV canst thou obtain a full ' view of that pale and ghastly countenance , " said the count , in a tone of malignant , infernal triumph . *
Tho chief judge drew near , cast one look upon tho face of the corpse , and uttered a piercing cry , exclaiming , " My son ! my son ! my only son !" We have epioted the above story as an illustration of the secrecy with Avhich this terrible association conducted its proceedings , public as were the fact of its existence and the fear of incurrino' its dis-O
pleasure ; aud in many instances those who thus feared and privately hated the Vehmique tribunal , were not in the slightest degree aware that their most intimate friends or dearest relations were among the number of its members . Wc have found a few more accounts of some of its customs and formsAA'hich . may be interesting to our readers .
, The custom of secret judgment , says Litzuaiyi' in his history of Charlemagne , was from Westphalia introduced into the county of Wolperthen . When the secret judges and assessors knew of any one within their jurisdiction whose conduct was not altogether regular , they first gave Jiiiu a private (!) and friendly warning , either b y fixing
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Secret Societies Of The Middle Ages
" Such is also my command , " exclaimed the chief judge , who Avas ever anxious to adopt proceedings which mig ht impair the influence and weaken the authority of the Yehm—a feeling in which all the legally appointed judicial authorities in Germany shared . "Hesitate not—pause not—show no mercy ' . " ho continued ; " and should there be any member of that unholy and illegal confederation now present "
, he added , "let him take warning from the course which the only true j ustice recognised in the laud is now about to take . " So profound an impression of terror hacl this bold proceeding on the part of the baron and the chief judge produced amongst the guests , that not a voice—not even a female voice—was raised to implore mercy for the prisoner .
The next portion of this terrible drama is to be found in a scene on the ramparts of tho castle . " Thus does justice overtake the cowardly menials of the Yehm !" said a voice close by the count " True , " replied the count , who immediately recognized the chief judge . " But methinks , you should know the wretch that is
hangingthere . " " I ! " ejaculated the chief judge : " nay , that is scarcely probable , my lord . "
" Approach , and let us see , " said the count , and hastened up the steps leading from tho rampart to the top of the tower . The chief judge followed him . "NOAV canst thou obtain a full ' view of that pale and ghastly countenance , " said the count , in a tone of malignant , infernal triumph . *
Tho chief judge drew near , cast one look upon tho face of the corpse , and uttered a piercing cry , exclaiming , " My son ! my son ! my only son !" We have epioted the above story as an illustration of the secrecy with Avhich this terrible association conducted its proceedings , public as were the fact of its existence and the fear of incurrino' its dis-O
pleasure ; aud in many instances those who thus feared and privately hated the Vehmique tribunal , were not in the slightest degree aware that their most intimate friends or dearest relations were among the number of its members . Wc have found a few more accounts of some of its customs and formsAA'hich . may be interesting to our readers .
, The custom of secret judgment , says Litzuaiyi' in his history of Charlemagne , was from Westphalia introduced into the county of Wolperthen . When the secret judges and assessors knew of any one within their jurisdiction whose conduct was not altogether regular , they first gave Jiiiu a private (!) and friendly warning , either b y fixing