Anglo-Saxon law Anglo-Saxon law (Old English ''ǣ'', later ''lagu'' "law"; dōm "decree, judgment") is a body of written rules and customs that were in place during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, before the Norman conquest. This body of law, along with early ...

, corsned ( OE ''cor'', "trial, investigation", + ''snǽd'', "bit, piece";

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''panis conjuratus''), also known as the ''accursed'' or ''sacred'' morsel, or the morsel of execration, was a type of

trial by ordeal Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. In medieval Europe, like trial by combat, tri ...

that consisted of a suspected person eating a piece of

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

bread and cheese totalling about an ounce in weight and consecrated with a form of

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

as a trial of his innocence. If guilty, it was supposed the bread would produce convulsions and paleness and cause

choking Choking, also known as foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO), is a phenomenon that occurs when breathing is impeded by a blockage inside of the respiratory tract. An obstruction that prevents oxygen from entering the lungs results in oxygen dep ...

. If innocent, it was believed the person could swallow it freely, and the bread would turn to nourishment. Blackstone, Sir William (1769). ''Commentaries on the laws of England''. IV. 339. "Corsned, or morsel of execration: being a piece of cheese or bread, of about an ounce in weight, which was consecrated with a form of exorcism; desiring of the Almighty that it might cause convulsions and paleness, and find no passage, if the man was really guilty; but might turn to health and nourishment, if he was innocent." The term dates to before 1000 AD; the laws of Ethelred II reference this practice: "Gif man freondleasne weofod-þen mid tihtlan belecge, ga to corsnæde." The ecclesiastical laws of Canute the Great also mention the practice. According to Isaac D'Israeli, the bread was of unleavened barley, and the cheese was made of ewe's milk in the month of May. D'Israeli, Isaac.
Trials and Proofs of Guilt in Superstitious Ages
. ''Curiosities of Literature''. Writers such as Richard Burn and

John Lingard John Lingard (5 February 1771 – 17 July 1851) was an English Roman Catholic priest and historian, the author of ''The History of England, From the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of Henry VIII'', an eight-volume work published i ...

have considered it an imitation of the " water of jealousy" used in the ordeal prescribed in

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

5:11-31 for cases of

jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgus ...

. Burn, Richard and John Burn (1792). ''A new law dictionary: intended for general use, as well as for gentlemen of the profession. By Richard Burn, ... And continued to the present time by John Burn, Esq. his son, ... In two volumes.'' Vol. 1. London. pp 231-232.

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In this ordeal, the priest wrote the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

on the bread, of which he then weighed out ten

pennyweight A pennyweight (dwt) is a unit of mass equal to 24 grains, of a troy ounce, of a troy pound, approximately 0.054857 avoirdupois ounce and exactly 1.55517384 grams. It is abbreviated dwt, ''d'' standing for ''denarius'' (an ancien ...

s, and so likewise with the cheese. Under the right foot of the accused, he set a cross of poplar wood, and, holding another cross of the same material over the man's head, threw over his head the theft written on a tablet. He placed the bread and cheese in the mouth of the accused at the same moment and, on doing so, recited the conjuration:Snell, Frederick John. "The Judgment of the Morsel".
The Customs of Old England
'. pp 137-138. The following prayer and exorcism were also used and ordered to be repeated three times: Legal historian Richard Burn believed that corsned bread may have originally been the very

sacramental bread Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host ( la, hostia, lit=sacrificial victim), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elemen ...

, but that later, the bishops and clergy would no longer allow the communion bread for such superstitious purposes; they would, however, grant the people to use the same judicial rite, in eating some other morsels of bread, blessed or cursed for the same uses. It has been asserted that this ordeal was specifically preserved for the clergy. On the other hand,

Godwin, Earl of Wessex Godwin of Wessex ( ang, Godwine; – 15 April 1053) was an English nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the ...

, is said to have died in this manner in 1053 while denying that he had any role in the death of King Edward the Confessor's brother Alfred in 1036;Cowell, John (1701). "Corsned". ''The interpreter of words and terms, used either in the common or statute laws of this realm, and in tenures and jocular customs...'' London. 351pp. p 95. however, the primary contemporary source for this information is the Croyland Chronicle, attributed to Ingulph (d. 1109), which has since been shown to be a much later forgery.E. Cobham Brewer (1894). "Ingulph's 'Croyland Chronicle'". ''Dictionary of Phrase and Fable''. "Proved to be a forgery by H. J. Riley in the ''Archaeological Journal'', 1862. He dates the forgery between 1393 and 1415, and attributes it to Prior Richard of Croyland and Sergeant William Ludyngton." The practice has long since been gradually abolished. Du Cange observed that the expression, "May this piece of bread choke me!" comes from this custom. Other common phrases of the same origin include "I will take the sacrament upon it!" and "May this morsel be my last!"

References

{{Reflist, 2 Exorcism in Christianity Breads Objects used for divination Ceremonial food and drink Trial by ordeal

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See also

References