ctive lords.

The free landholders were expected to attend county, hundred, and
manor courts. They owed "suit" to it. The suitors found the dooms
[laws] by which the presiding officer pronounced the sentence.

The county courts heard cases of theft, brawling, beating, and
wounding, for which the penalties could be exposure in the pillory
or stocks. The pillory held an offender's head and hands in holes
in boards, and the stocks held one's hands and feet. Here the
public could scorn and hit the offender or throw fruit, mud, and
dead cats at him. For sex offenders and informers, stones were
usually thrown. Sometimes a person was stoned to death. The county
courts met twice yearly. If an accused failed to appear after four
successive county courts, he was declared outlaw at the fifth and
forfeited his civil rights and all his property. He could be slain
by anyone at will.

The hundred court met once a month to hear neighborhood disputes,
for instance concerning pastures, meadows and harvests. Usually
present was a priest, the reeve, four representative men, and
sometimes the lord or his steward in his place. Sometimes the
chief pledges were present to represent all the men in their
respective frankpledges. The bailiff presided over all these
sessions except two, in which the sheriff presided over the full
hundred court to take the view of frankpledge, which was required
for those who did not have a lord to answer for him.

The barons held court on their manors at a "hallmote" for issues
arising between people living on the manor, such as bad ploughing
on the lord's land or letting a cow get loose on the lord's land,
and land disputes. This court also made the decision of whether a
certain person was a villein or freeman. The manor court took over
issues which had once been heard in the vill or hundred court. The
baron charged a fee for hearing a case and received any fines he
imposed, which amounted to significant "profits of justice".

Boroughs held court on trading and marketing issues in their towns
such as measures and weights, as well as issues between people who
lived in the borough. The borough court was presided over by a
reeve who was a burgess as well as a royal official.

Wealthy men could employ professional pleader-attorneys to advise
them and to speak for them in a court.

The ecclesiastical courts dealt, until the time of Henry VIII,
with family matters such as marriage, annulments, marriage
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