On the following Sunday, Gwenda attended the court hearing that would decide the fate of the man she loved.

The manorial court was held in the church after the service. It was the forum in which the village took collective action. Some of the questions it addressed were disputes -- arguments over field boundaries, accusations of theft or rape, quarrels about debts -- but more often it made pragmatic decisions, such as when to begin ploughing with the communal eight-ox team.

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