Corsned
Encyclopedia
In Anglo-Saxon law
, corsned (OE cor, "trial, investigation", + snǽd, "bit, piece"; Latin panis conjuratus), also known as the accursed or sacred morsel, or the morsel of execration, was a type of trial by ordeal
consisting in the eating of a piece of barley
bread
and cheese, totalling about an ounce in weight, consecrated
with a form of exorcism
, and to be swallowed by a suspected person, as a trial of his innocence. If guilty, it was supposed the bread would produce convulsion
s and paleness, and cause choking
. If innocent, it was believed the person could swallow it freely, and the bread would turn to nourishment.
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 to be of unleavened barley, and the cheese made of ewe
's milk in the month of May.
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
5:11-31 for cases of jealousy
.
on the bread, of which he then weighed out ten pennyweight
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 at the same moment in the mouth of the accused, and, on doing so, recited the conjuration:
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
's brother Alfred in 1036; 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.
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!"
Anglo-Saxon law
Anglo-Saxon law 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 Scandinavian law and continental Germanic law, descended from a family of ancient Germanic custom and legal thought...
, corsned (OE cor, "trial, investigation", + snǽd, "bit, piece"; Latin 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
Trial by ordeal is a judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused is determined by subjecting them to an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience...
consisting in the eating of a piece of barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
and cheese, totalling about an ounce in weight, consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
with a form of exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
, and to be swallowed by a suspected person, as a trial of his innocence. If guilty, it was supposed the bread would produce convulsion
Convulsion
A convulsion is a medical condition where body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in an uncontrolled shaking of the body. Because a convulsion is often a symptom of an epileptic seizure, the term convulsion is sometimes used as a synonym for seizure...
s and paleness, and cause choking
Choking
Choking is the mechanical obstruction of the flow of air from the environment into the lungs. Choking prevents breathing, and can be partial or complete, with partial choking allowing some, although inadequate, flow of air into the lungs. Prolonged or complete choking results in asphyxia which...
. If innocent, it was believed the person could swallow it freely, and the bread would turn to nourishment.
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
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
also mention the practice.
According to Isaac D'Israeli
Isaac D'Israeli
Isaac D'Israeli was a British writer, scholar and man of letters. He is best known for his essays, his associations with other men of letters, and for being the father of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli....
, the bread was to be of unleavened barley, and the cheese made of ewe
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
's milk in the month of May.
Writers such as Richard Burn
Richard Burn
Richard Burn was an English legal writer.-Education and career:...
and John Lingard
John Lingard
Dr. John Lingard was an English Catholic priest, born in St Thomas Street in Central Winchester to recusant parents and the author of The History Of England, From the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of Henry VIII, an 8-volume work published in 1819...
have considered it an imitation of the "water of jealousy
Sotah
Sotah deals with the ritual of the Sotah - the woman suspected of adultery as described and prescribed in the Book of Numbers in...
" used in the ordeal prescribed in Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
5:11-31 for cases of jealousy
Jealousy
Jealousy is a second emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Jealousy often consists of a combination of presenting emotions...
.
Details
In this ordeal, the priest wrote the Lord's PrayerLord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
on the bread, of which he then weighed out ten pennyweight
Pennyweight
A pennyweight is a unit of mass that is equal to 24 grains, 1/20 of a troy ounce, 1/240 of a troy pound, approximately 0.054857 avoirdupois ounce and exactly 1.55517384 grams....
s, and so likewise with the cheese. Under the right foot of the accused, he set a cross of poplar
Poplar
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
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 at the same moment in the mouth of the accused, and, on doing so, recited the conjuration:
The following prayer and exorcism were also used and ordered to be repeated three times:
Legal historian Richard Burn
Richard Burn
Richard Burn was an English legal writer.-Education and career:...
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
Godwin, Earl of Wessex
Godwin of Wessex , was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great and his successors. Cnut made him the first 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
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
's brother Alfred in 1036; however, the primary contemporary source for this information is the Croyland Chronicle
Croyland Chronicle
The Croyland Chronicle is an important, if not always reliable, primary source for English medieval history, in particular the late fifteenth century. It was written at the Benedictine Abbey of Croyland, in Lincolnshire, England, off and on from 655 to 1486, and its first author claimed to be...
, attributed to Ingulph
Ingulph
Ingulph was a Benedictine abbot of Crowland, head of Crowland Abbey in Lincolnshire. He was an Englishman who, having travelled to England on diplomatic business as secretary of William, Duke of Normandy in 1051, was made Abbot of Crowland in 1087 at Duke William's instigation after he had...
(d. 1109), which has since been shown to be a much later forgery.
The practice has long since been gradually abolished. Du Cange
Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange
Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange or Ducange was a distinguished philologist and historian of the Middle Ages and Byzantium....
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
- AlphitomancyAlphitomancyAlphitomancy is a form of divination involving barley cakes or loaves of barley bread....
- Witches of BelvoirWitches of BelvoirThe Witches of Belvoir were three women, a mother and her two daughters, accused of witchcraft in England around 1619. The mother, Joan Flower, died while in prison, and the two daughters, Margaret and Philippa, were hanged at Lincoln....
- one of the women in this case reportedly died after wishing she should choke on her food if she was guilty.