Breakin' the Law
Example of Multiple Jurisdictions
Court of the Verge, England
This is a less colorful example, but illustrates other aspects of medieval justice. The Court of the Verge was a special court that existed only when the King of England was travelling within the realm. As you can imagine, the royal court on the move was a rather grand affair, involving many people and requiring plenty of local services wherever they went. The last thing the king needed was for his people to get tangled up in the local courts.
So developed a royal court whose jurisdiction extended for twelve miles in every direction outward from the person of the king. Within that circumference, any crime that was committed was referred to the Court of the Verge.
The court was presided over by a steward and the marshal, and there was no appeal. Most of the cases were disputes over money, but sometimes there might be an assault or a theft.
The Court of the Verge demonstrates how personal was medieval law. The person of the king was special, different from everyone else, and he merited courts and procedures that were different. In modern times I suppose we would invoke national security to accomplish the same sort of special treatments. But if the king should die, the court no longer had authority; no longer even had existence. And when the king returned to his own estates, the Court of the Verge likewise ceased to exist.