3.
The deputy seneschal guides us into the keep, the central fortress of the castle. Meanwhile, we get a brief history of the castle. The floor level of the basement of the keep, as well as of the former stables, were once the ground floor level of the first castle built on this location. Since, the terrain has been leveled up to what is now the courtyard/backyard. The original ground floor, now the basement of the keep, holds the prison cells, where we are not allowed to enter. The keep’s current ground floor, which lays slightly elevated above the level of the courtyard, is used as courtroom for criminal trials. When the dukes still resided here, It happened to be the castle’s ballroom.
The spaces in the keep have high ceilings. Hence, despite its towering height, it has only two levels. The first floor, the former ‘throne room’ of the duke, is used for receptions and for dining. The kitchen is located just outside the former throne room, in an annex building of the keep. Higher up, we reach the upper battlements of the keep.
Underway, I try to compare the structure of the 15th century castle, with the ‘historic monument’ it has become in our time. It occurs to me, that the overall structure is fairly similar with its future appearance, yet there are some differences too. Of course, in our time, the monument has been restored to what late 19th century Romantic architects thought to be the right thing, i.e. some sort of Medieval ideal. The castle we are in now, has several wooden buildings in the courtyard, and also a stone annex to the dungeon which must have completely vanished since. The most conspicuous difference is that, due to the loss of a military use, wooden structures have been built over what in our times are the flat rooftops of the keep and of the gate house. The wooden building on top of the keep is used as some kind of a cantina and lounge for the magistrates. There is however a balcony on it, along the battlements, which gives us a splendid view over the Medieval town. The large majority of the houses are made of wood, and they are rather limited in height. This makes the stone buildings, like the castle and the churches stand out even more than during our own time. The still to be finished cathedral (future cathedral in fact, since it was a collegiate church at the time, that got raised to that status of cathedral only decades later), its tower crowned by a spire that would burn down some hundred years later, and never was rebuilt afterwards. The nearby belfry is only a stone stump, crowned by a short wooden bell tower. In our times, it is twice as high. Most magnificent is the 15th century cathedral, an impressive Romanesque church with eight towers, one on each corner, one more as a lantern over the crossing, and another one (of more recent age) next to it, as part of the monastery and bishop’s palace. Less than a century later, much of it would be ruined by religious wars, rebellion and other harm that would strike the area. The little that would be left of the once splendid cathedral would be completely erased during the French Revolution.
Sometimes I regret not having a camera with me, but, apart from the tricky act of showing up one in Medieval times, it simply would work. The camera could be taken home, but the pictures would ‘stay’ in the fifteenth century. Of course, through the bearer wave function, everything I see is recorded in our control center, but anyway, nothing beats seeing the real thing.
Our current journey back in time is not the furthest back in time as yet, but it is the furthest that takes place in such a crowded area as a town, and with so much communication with the people from the time. Everything seems to work fine as yet, and if it should be successful, Inside Reports for earlier eras are envisaged. One of them will be about a daring mission about… crucifixion in Roman times, and for which my partner and me are shortlisted as possible prime crew.
In the lounge, we meet the court’s dean, who is very curious to meet the time travelers. He is very interested himself to learn about our way to handle justice and law enforcement. Like the deputy seneschal, he finds our view on certain aspects of the current practice very remarkable. He too has a lot of considerations about our Enlightenment justice, particularly the use of long term imprisonment, the role of defense attorneys, and long appeal procedures. The practice of jury trials, he deems only suitable for nobles and higher clergy, to be judged by their peers. The dean considers it not done for commoners to get judged by a jury of commoners, because they would completely lack any sense of impartial justice. He defends the current investigation practices as an improvement compared to Feudal times, when the guilt question was laid in the hand of God. This has led to practices that were sheer arbitrariness, such as trial by combat, the ducking stool, or trial by fire. These procedures have fortunately been replaced by fair trial procedures!
We said goodbye to an erudite, friendly man, who was clearly open for another’s opinion. Since it is midday, our guide invites us to the dining room on the first floor for a meal. A stew of pork, carrots and field peas, with bread. We eat it with a spoon, while one knife is shared by all. No fork in that era. There is a carafe of red wine on the table. It is not bad, but tastes less strong than we are used to in our time. Of course, no potatoes, tomatoes, bell pepper,… Somewhere else in this world, there must be an apprentice sailor named Christoforo Colombo, of which nobody had ever heard yet.
During the meal, we take on the discussion on the role of torture in the investigation procedure. Every magistrate, the deputy seneschal states, is aware of the risks of torture, and is reluctant to proceed to that method. They all know that one can extract anything from a suspect, an interrogator wants to hear, by subjecting them to the pain of torture. That is however no way to solve a case. If not handled with care, torture can bring an innocent to the gallows, which is bad, and hence let the real culprit get away with his crime, which is likely even worse!
The deputy senechal explains how it works! A magistrate must first of all possess a good amount of, for not to say an overwhelming evidence against the accused! Testimonies by witnesses, material and circumstantial evidence, conflicting statements by the accused,…. The accused will be confronted with all that evidence, and be allowed to give more explanation. This could lead to further investigation of the case, but if the accused fails to convince the magistrates, they will make a proposal : “Our case we have now against you, is the case that will be submitted to court, and which will be used against you there! But if you persist in your innocence, you may present yourself to an upgraded interrogation”
The rationale behind this is, that a really innocent person will not break under torture. Innocence is stronger than pain! This practice may appear similar to ordeal trial, or trial by fire, but it is not! It is, on the contrary, intended to rule out supernatural intervention, since the current view is, that man has a free will, and acts accordingly.
After the proposal has been made, the accused have 24 hours of time to reconsider. They have to confirm their choice themselves, otherwise they are supposed to deny the proposal, and they go to court, with against them the act of accusation and evidence as have been made up by the interrogating magistrates.
In case the accused opts for an ‘upgraded interrogation’, a session is organized. Although the accused is often kept locked up in the castle, some are even sent home and given an appointment for a session, and is expected to report ‘for torture’ at the gates of the castle. Running away meanwhile is a bad idea, since that is a proof of guilt. Fleeing the jurisdiction of the court, automatically results into a status of outlaw.
We close the meal with a dessert : cheese and an apple. No such things as chocolate, or a cup of coffee or tea! Have some 150-200 years patience, people! Too bad, they have to live without it! Now, time to go to the place where it happens, and for which we came for : the inside of the torture room!
(to be continued)
