{"id":232,"date":"2022-06-30T17:48:25","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T17:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/?p=232"},"modified":"2022-06-30T23:42:03","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T23:42:03","slug":"oyer-and-terminer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/30\/oyer-and-terminer\/","title":{"rendered":"Oyer and Terminer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Anglo-French legal term \u2018oyer et terminer\u2019 translates as \u2018to hear and determine\u2019. It was the one of the commissions whereby a judge of assizes sat in days of old, also known as \u2018audiendo et terminando\u2019 or \u2018soc and sac\u2019, a system of ad hoc \u2018justice\u2019 that enabled the witch hunts of the 17th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Richard<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

in 1645 a Commission of Oyer and Terminer chaired by Matthew Hopkins, self-proclaimed Witchfinder General, claimed 18 lives in Bury St Edmunds. 16 of the 18 \u2018witches\u2019 who died by hanging were women. On May 27th, 1692, Massachusetts Governor William Phips convened the court of Oyer and Terminer that presided over the Salem witch trials. More than two hundred innocents were accused. Thirty were found guilty. 14 of the 19 who died by hanging were women. Five more unfortunates perished in jail and one man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to testify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My lifelong study of the \u2018old religion\u2019 and the persecution suffered by its adherents had familiarised me with the Witchfinder\u2019s process, the system of interrogation and coercive control Matthew Hopkins and others of his hateful ilke applied in the remote, gossip ridden 17th century communities where barely repressed pagan instincts and murderous mass hysteria smouldered behind the bucolic facade of rural life, constantly threatening to tear asunder the fragile fabric of their world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never expected to have to apply those techniques, nor find myself in the witch hunter\u2019s boots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you mean he doesn\u2019t remember?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I narrowed my eyes, trying to see through Grendel\u2019s bland, baby faced exterior in the hope of determining what was really eating him. The accused gazed back at me from where he sat at the far end of the long table, attempting an apologetic smile. He looked very different from the unkempt figure that had smashed the front window of the Maison Bethany the night before, entering my headquarters with intent to rob or kill. He had taken the time to at least shave and comb his hair before the Duke\u2019s \u2019dogs\u2019 brought him in and was cleanly dressed in a grey tracksuit. The ferals, the so-called \u2018dogs\u2019 who\u2019d escorted young him back across the river after locating him in the Spring Cave, stuck around to make sure justice was done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Maison Bethany\u2019s kitchen-dining area had been converted into an impromptu candle-lit court where we sat to determine Grendel\u2019s fate. We like to take care of our own business in the high valleys, the nearest gendarmerie being too far away to matter. Since the onset of the pandemic any residual faith that the uniformed cops were actually here to protect the community had crashed, leaving the villagers to resort to old fashioned methods of resolving conflicts and maintaining peace in the valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flickering, unsteady candlelight fell across the avid faces of the ferals, braided hair and grubby imitation buckskin making them look like figures from another world as they flanked the accused\u2019s chair. I sat slouched in my customary position at the far end of the table, petting Doozie, my purring first familiar who was still feeling skittish after the break in. Brother Pyke was seated to my left, examining the documents submitted for our consideration, Grendel\u2019s ID card among them. JC, had taken on the role of translator and ad hoc council to the accused, his unkempt ginger beard and dreads contrasting oddly with the black tailcoat he\u2019d donned to give the proceedings an appropriate sense of gravitas. It wasn\u2019t the 17th century anymore and Grendel knew we couldn\u2019t hang him. He had that going in his favour and it made him a wee bit too cocky for my liking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe says he can\u2019t remember anything after leaving the hot springs,\u201d insisted JC, turning in a semi-circle behind Grendel. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t know how he ended up in your kitchen.\u201d
\u201cThat\u2019s mighty convenient,\u201d I glowered, not buying one bit of it. \u201cAnd I suppose he doesn\u2019t remember any of the threats he made?\u201d
\u201cD\u00e9sol\u00e9.\u201d JC blinked. \u201cCan you say that again?\u201d
\u201cLes menaces. The threats against my life?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grendel shook his head, smiling gormlesly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to support Tales from the Zone by Richard Stanley, you can do say via PayPal donations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour blood,\u201d I reminded him. \u201cYour blood in Hell. Les enfers. You kept repeating that. I don\u2019t suppose you minds telling us why?\u201d
Grendel\u2019s smile faded. Assumed a baffled, hurt expression, he muttered something to JC in French.
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know,\u201d translated JC as if this needed any translation.
\u201cWe\u2019re getting nowhere with this line of questioning,\u201d brother Pyke shook his head. Pyke and his fellow \u2018guardians of the Zone\u2019 had more pressing matters on their plate, having recently been informed that the local Masons and the mairie of Sougraigne intended to foreclose on the property at the head of the Salz river, a portal area if ever there was one. Accordingly Pyke was under pressure and in no mood to waste his whole evening dealing with this headlong malarky.
\u201cHe was probably so off his face yesterday he\u2019s still in some sort of fugue state,\u201d I mused.
\u201cFrom what you said, he sounded possessed,\u201d offered Pyke.
\u201cSo what should I do? Perform an exorcism?\u201d I sighed, appraising the evidence. \u201cThe question remains, why did he come here? Why did he choose this house? I don\u2019t believe he chose it at random.\u201d
\u201cThe witches,\u201d interceded JC. \u201c\u00c9videmment! Les sorci\u00e8res gagnent en puissance. The witches sent him here. \u201d
\u201cAnd I don\u2019t believe that either,\u201d I hissed. JC looked a little taken aback, a shadow crossing his face as the room fell silent. We all heard the night wind rattling at the boarded up window and Doozie mewed, turning in my lap.
\u201cEveryone knows the witches are back in the Zone,\u201d JC insisted, as if this sudden gust of wind somehow proved his point. \u201c They\u2019re here. Even as we speak, the Norwegian witch, Madame \u2019T\u2019, is working her vile necromancies at the chateau of Puilarens. She\u2019s receiving support from the Magdalenians in Alet and the OTO. The witches are gathering for the final conflict and you\u2019re wasting your time on a broken window and some damaged furniture?\u201d
\u201cAnd what if this has nothing to do with the witches?\u201d My gaze tightened on JC, mindful of the Duke of Dog\u2019s warning. \u201cDo you honestly believe a single one of these self-proclaimed \u2018witches\u2019 has any real supernatural power? Anyone who knows them or claims to have taken part in their rituals agrees, they couldn\u2019t conjure a canteloupe, let alone wield the power to take control of this young idiot\u2019s senses and direct him to attack the house. What if there\u2019s another perfectly logical explanation?\u201d
\u201cLogique?\u201d JC scowled as if I too had taken leave of my senses. \u201cSince when did logic apply? This is the Zone. Tu devrais savoir \u00e7a. Sometimes you have to trust. Trust in your intuition.\u201d He made a curious, almost indescribable gesture towards the shuttered window. \u201cTrust in what the Zone is trying to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I gathered my thoughts, listening to the soughing of the wind in the unseen trees. It was more than just surreal. It was pathetic. Our frail, mendacious human attempts to impose our beliefs upon the Zone, to bring order to the night. All the bullshit we bring to this place is amplified, exposed and turned back at us. Heaven and hell. Paradis et les enfers. It\u2019s all tight here, just a millimetre apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah. Le caprice de la Zone. Its the only thing you can trust in,\u201d I muttered, fixing Grendel with my gaze. \u201cEven chaos has an order after all. And it\u2019s telling me one thing. This has nothing to do with the war against the witches. This is a side show. Some other force sent this boy to my door.\u201d
\u201cWhy don\u2019t we take him in to the station tomorrow morning,\u201d suggested brother Pyke. \u201cLet the gendarmerie deal with him. Make an insurance claim on the window.\u201d
\u201cHe\u2019s got one previous – for robbing that supermarket in Limoux,\u201d I returned my attention to the evidence. \u201cIf I press charges, he\u2019ll do time.\u201d
\u201cOtherwise?\u201d Pyke shrugged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a moment everyone in the room seemed to be looking at me, even the cat – as if I were the only one with any control over the lunatic circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBind him over to keep the peace and make him pay to fix the glazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I subsided back into my chair, spent by the proceedings. Brother Pyke translated as JC busied himself with fetching a tape measure and pricing the damage. Grendel looked relieved, his former goofy smile returning as he offered his hand. His grip was clammy and somehow unconvincing.
\u201cJust fix the window. Then get out of here.\u201d I told him. \u201cI\u2019ve got enough on my plate at the moment and don\u2019t need the karma.\u201d
\u201cKarma?\u201d Grendel blinked. \u201cPardon. Je ne\u2026\u201d
\u201cI know. You don\u2019t understand.\u201d I shook my head, gathering my cigarette lighter and other vital oddments. \u201cI got that from the top. The Zone takes care of its own. You stay away from me and my cat in future. Comprendre? We\u2019ll let the karma deal with itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grendel nodded slowly as if finally figuring out I was doing him a favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d he offered, but I wasn\u2019t listening anymore. Opening the front door, I stepped out to check on the moon. The rising wind was beating back the clouds and She was there alright, blazing down at our world through a rent in the thunderous curtain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JC was right about one thing and one thing only. There were forces rising in the Zone. Dark forces that would need to be countered carefully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for reading the Richard Stanley blog, Tales from the Zone, a journal that will give outsiders some small insight into our day to day lives in the valleys of French Occitania. Please NOTE these entries are meant to be experienced in order. If you only just found this blog, you can begin reading from the start:<\/sub> Halloween<\/sub><\/a>. You can also find Richard Stanley on <\/sub>Twitter<\/sub><\/a>, and <\/sub>Facebook<\/sub><\/a>. However, Tales from the Zone are only published here.<\/sub><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Anglo-French legal term \u2018oyer et terminer\u2019 translates as \u2018to hear and determine\u2019. It was the one of the commissions whereby a judge of assizes sat in days of old, also known as \u2018audiendo et terminando\u2019 or \u2018soc and sac\u2019, a system of ad hoc \u2018justice\u2019 that enabled the witch hunts of the 17th century. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tales-from-the-zone-by-richard-stanley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243,"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232\/revisions\/243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theofficialrichardstanley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}