Abstract
In establishing proof and creating legal obligations, secular laws during the medieval period often depended on God's judgement, whether immediately as in the ordeal or eventually as a sanction against oath-breakers. This reliance on supernatural intervention in turn invited, indeed required, ecclesiastical co-operation. No ordeal could be held without the presence of a priest, oaths were normally sworn on sacred objects such as relics or gospel books, and only the Catholic Church could impose the penalties of penance and excommunication for perjury and other offences considered to be sins. Welsh law was no exception to this general pattern. Although it lacked the ordeal, it relied heavily on oaths as well as according the clergy a crucial part in certain legal procedures and prescribing penances for some serious offences. In Wales, as elsewhere in medieval Europe, belief in God was therefore fundamental to the functioning of legal processes. The rules on penance and excommunication presuppose a substantial measure of co-operation between secular law and authority on the one hand and the Church on the other.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
