De strafrechtspraak door officiaal en bisschop van ’s-Hertogenbosch, 1559-1631

Een ontwikkelingsmodel van de stad van 1170 tot 1400 – (deel 2)

Samenvatting

The first bishop of ’s-Hertogenbosch took office in 1561 and took control of the diocese with his own hands. This was also the case for the judiciary system; in particular, the criminal justice system. The officials he appointed for this task were personal delegates of his. Some of the judicial powers were exercised by the bishop himself. The supervisor [promotor] acted as the public prosecutor. Additionally, the court consisted of functionaries who could handle the inevitable administration quickly and smoothly. The aim was to achieve efficiency. We have only a few examples that show something of this judiciary process; they show that the theory from the statutes was followed in practice.

The bishop’s verdict register provides insight into the nature of cases brought before him for consideration and the sentences that he passed. The register numbers 158 verdicts and covers the years 1597-1615. With one exception, all the verdicts come from the time of Bishop Gijsbertus Masius. They are either pronounced by him or his zegelaar in the function of vicarius in spiritualibus. These are virtually all the more serious offences that were publicly known and reserved for the bishop: mainly dealing with marriage law and morality. The offences were presented and handled as confessions although not all offenders came to the bishop of their own accord.

After repenting and asking for forgiveness, the bishop issued a penance with the primary command to remove the cause of the offence and to undo any offence or harm done – usually to women. Additionally, occasionally penitence consisted of imprisonment but mainly of degrading, monetary or spiritual punishments, usually in combination. The penalties imposed were primarily intended to set a terrifying example. The views from before Trent may have disappeared from the law books and minds of the church leaders but the new morals values could not, in so short a time, be deeply embedded in the lower clergy and those who followed the faith in the bishopric of ’s-Hertogenbosch.