In
Anglo-Saxon law
Anglo-Saxon law (, later ; , ) was the legal system of Anglo-Saxon England from the 6th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. It was a form of Germanic law based on unwritten custom known as folk-right and on written laws enacted by Histo ...
, corsned (
OE ''cor'', "trial, investigation", + ''snǽd'', "bit, piece";
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''panis conjuratus''), also known as the ''accursed'' or ''sacred'' morsel, or the morsel of
execration, was a type of
trial by ordeal that consisted of a suspected person eating a piece of
barley
Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
bread
Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...
and cheese totalling about an ounce in weight and
consecrated with a form of
exorcism as a trial of his innocence. If guilty, it was supposed the bread would produce
convulsions and
paleness and cause
choking. 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
Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...
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 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 most basic 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.
[ 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.]
Details
In this ordeal, the priest wrote the
Lord's Prayer on the bread, of which he then weighed out ten
pennyweights, 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, 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, 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
Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.
Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
'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
The ''Croyland Chronicle'', also called ''Crowland Chronicle'', is an important primary source for English medieval history, particularly the late 15th century. It is named for its place of origin, the Benedictine Croyland Abbey, Abbey of Croyl ...
, 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.
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!"
See also
*
Alphitomancy
*
Witches of Belvoir - One of the women in this case reportedly died after wishing she should choke on her food if she was guilty.
References
{{Reflist, 2
Exorcism in Christianity
Breads
Objects used for divination
Ceremonial food and drink
Trial by ordeal