| 词源 |
corsned. This unusual word means “an ordeal by bread.” In medieval times guilt was sometimes determined by making the accused swallow an ounce of bread or cheese consecrated by a priest—if the accused choked on the bread he was considered guilty. Blackstone explained in his Commentaries that people believed that the Almighty would “cause convulsions and pale- ness and [the bread would] find no passage if the man was really guilty, but might turn to health and nourishment if he was in- nocent.” The practice is recorded as early as the 10th century and the word corsned derives from the Old English cor, “trial,” and snaed, “piece.” |