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Originally, ecclesiastical courts were intended to try people for heresy and other religious crimes and to try clergy for any crime they were accused of, since the clergy were not generally subject to secular authorities but did have to obey secular law.

In theory, an ecclesiastical court could punish anyone brought before it for any crime, and it was possible for people to appeal to ecclesiastical court to avoid secular court. There were advantages in appearing before an ecclesiastical court because they were intended to instruct the criminal rather than get revenge, and because they were more merciful and did in many times when torture was used, they did not use torture. Ecclesiastical courts were intended to be the mechanism for trying clergy, but since it was unclear exactly who the clergy were, they could be appealed to by anyone who was literate, the standard being that they could at least read the 51st psalm.

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15y ago

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