The manor court was the lowest court of law in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 (and in other Western European countries such as France during the feudal period). It dealt with matters over which the Lord of the Manor

Lord of the Manor

The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...

 had jurisdiction. Its powers extended only to those living in the manor

Manor

-Land tenure:*Manor, an estate in land of the mediaeval era in England*Manorialism, a system of land tenure and organization of the rural economy and society in parts of medieval Europe based on the manor*Manor house, the principal house of a manor...

 or who held land at the manor

Basic functions

Each Manor

Manor

-Land tenure:*Manor, an estate in land of the mediaeval era in England*Manorialism, a system of land tenure and organization of the rural economy and society in parts of medieval Europe based on the manor*Manor house, the principal house of a manor...

 has its own laws listed in a document called the Custamal. Anyone breaking those laws would be tried in the Manor Court. The earlier Saxon method of trial by ordeal or of compurgation

Compurgation

Compurgation, also called wager of law, is a defence used primarily in medieval law. A defendant could establish his innocence or nonliability by taking an oath and by getting a required number of persons, typically twelve, to swear they believed the defendant's oath.Compurgation was found in...

 was modified by the Normans into the decision of a jury

Jury

A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...

 made up of 12 local freemen. The Lord or his steward would be the chairman, whilst the Parish Clerk would write down the record on the court roll

Court roll

The Manorial Roll or Court Roll is the roll or record kept in connection with a manorial court, in particular containing entries relating to the rents and holdings, deaths, alienations, and successions of the customary tenants or copyholders. A copy of the court roll constitutes the tenant's title...

s.

If convicted, a criminal would be punished or fined depending on the severity of the crime. If the offence was serious the trial would be taken to the King’s court.

Most of the those found guilty of offences at the Manor Court would be fined. Other types of punishments could include having part of one's tongue cut out for gossiping, and being marked with a red hot poker.

Collective responsibility

The entire population of the Manor was required to attend the Court, which was held several times a year regardless of whether any crimes had been committed, so that new ownerships could be proclaimed and local arguments resolved.

Villagers were also collectively responsible for catching criminals. The ‘hue and cry’ was the sounded when someone had committed a crime, and every villager was required to assist with the capture of the criminal or be prepared to face charges as well.

Higher judicial functions

In some cases the Manor Court functioned as a de facto Court Leet

Court leet

The court leet was a historical court baron of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge" and its attendant police jurisdiction, which was normally restricted to the hundred courts.-History:...

.

The Manor Lord could be given a post by the central government, such as sheriff or officer in charge of the county, in return for a small payment. In these cases the Manor Court's jurisdiction could in effect become county-wide.

Alternatively, the Lord could acquire a franchise

Government-granted monopoly

In economics, a government-granted monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly by which a government grants exclusive privilege to a private individual or firm to be the sole provider of a good or service; potential competitors are excluded from the market by law, regulation, or other mechanisms of...

 of the Crown

The Crown

The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...

 to hold court for criminal matters. This jurisdiction was that of Court Leet

Court leet

The court leet was a historical court baron of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge" and its attendant police jurisdiction, which was normally restricted to the hundred courts.-History:...

 and View of Frankpledge

Frankpledge

Frankpledge, earlier known as frith-borh , was a system of joint suretyship common in England throughout the Early Middle Ages. The essential characteristic was the compulsory sharing of responsibility among persons connected through kinship, or some other kind of tie such as an oath of fealty to a...

(the two terms define the same assembly), the manor freemen being the jury of a 'crown' court within the manor's area.