WILLIAM DE RUBRUQUIS ad. 



1253. 



her wheresoever you can find her. Then he and his 

 friends seek for her till they can find her, and having 

 found her hee must take her by force and cary her, as it 

 were, violently unto his owne house. 



Of their execution of justice and judgement : 

 and of their deaths and burials. Chap. 10. 



Concerning their lawes or their execution of justice, 

 your Majesty is to be advertised, that when two men 

 fight, no third man dare intrude himself to part them. 

 Yea, the father dare not help his owne sonne. But he 

 that goes by the worst must appeale unto the court of his 

 lord. And whosoever els offereth him any violence after 

 appeale, is put to death. But he must go presently 

 without all delay : and he that hath suffered the injury, 

 carieth him, as it were captive. They punish no man with 

 sentence of death, unles hee bee taken in the deede 

 doing, or confesseth the same. But being accused by the 

 multitude, they put him unto extreame torture to make 

 him confesse the trueth. They punish murther with 

 death, and carnall copulation also with any other besides [I. 100.] 

 his owne. By his own, I meane his wife or his maid 

 servant, for he may use his slave as he listeth himself. 

 Heinous theft also or felony they punish with death. For 

 a light theft, as namely for stealing of a ram, the party 

 (not being apprehended in the deed doing, but otherwise 

 detected) is cruelly beaten. And if ye executioner laies 

 on an 100. strokes, he must have an 100. staves, namely 

 for such as are beaten upon sentence given in the court. 

 Also counterfeit messengers, because they feine themselves 

 to be messengers, when as indeed they are none at all, 

 they punish with death. Sacrilegious persons they use in 

 like maner (of which kind of malefactors your Majesty 

 shall understand more fully hereafter) because they 

 esteeme such to be witches. When any man dieth, they 

 lament & howle most pitifully for him : & the said 

 mourners are free from paying any tribute for one whole 

 yeare after. Also whosoever is present at the house 



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