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fandomhigh2010-07-22 03:02 pm
glasses-justice.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2010-07-22 03:02 pm
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Great Trials in History, Class #3, Period 5 (7-22)
"Last week," Alex began, "we talked about two very different trials that hinged on the same issue: recanting your life's work when your life itself may hang in the balance. This week, we're going to take a look at two individuals who tried another option entirely -- talking your way out of it."
Alex scooped up chalk and wrote Thomas More on the left side of the chalkboard, then turned back to her students. "Thomas More," she began, "Lord Chancellor of England at a time when the church was undergoing some major upheavals. The King, Henry VIII, had essentially splintered the English church away from the larger Catholic church, and declared himself to be the head of this church. More refused to recognize Henry's authority, which lead to More's arrest and trial.
"More insisted on answering the charges against him. On the charge of speaking treasonously to the king, More said that he had given Henry honest and truthful answers whenever asked his opinion. To do otherwise would make him a flatterer and toady. Another charge was that he had refused to sign a paper agreeing to Henry's authority, while also refusing to give a reason for doing so. The interrogator said that his silence stated his true feelings on the matter, but More countered that, traditionally, silence gives consent. Therefore, he argued, nothing could be taken from his refusal except the assumption that he tacitly agreed.
Alex drew a line on the chalkboard, and on the other side wrote Jeanne d'Arc. "Nearly one hundred years before, Joan of Arc was a peasant girl in France who, after disguising herself as a man, infiltrated the army and led them to some stunning victories in the ongoing war. Joan claimed that the voice of God had compelled her. In a modern court, a defendant claiming to hear the voice of God would receive a psychiatric work-up, but at the time, in France, the charge was heresy.
"The interrogation of Joan of Arc, therefore, hinged on a number of theological questions, ones where the questioners hoped that Joan would say something that might condemn her as a heretic or undermine the rest of her testimony. Instead, she walked a very fine line. When asked if she was in God's grace -- if He Himself approved of her actions, essentially, a question where 'yes' implies blasphemy and 'no' implies sin -- she said, 'If I am not, may God put me there, and if I am, may God keep me there.' Later, when asked if these visions and apparitions hadn't failed her, as she had been taken prisoner, she argued that it must have been God's will for her to be taken prisoner.
Finally, Alex set the chalk down and dusted her hands off. "Both Joan of Arc and Thomas More tried to sidestep the pertinent questions in a way that would let them hold to both their religious convictions and their lives. Unfortunately, this is where we get to the major drawback of this approach. If a governing body wants you dead or discredited this badly, then the trial's not much more than a formality. Both were found guilty and executed."
Alex scooped up chalk and wrote Thomas More on the left side of the chalkboard, then turned back to her students. "Thomas More," she began, "Lord Chancellor of England at a time when the church was undergoing some major upheavals. The King, Henry VIII, had essentially splintered the English church away from the larger Catholic church, and declared himself to be the head of this church. More refused to recognize Henry's authority, which lead to More's arrest and trial.
"More insisted on answering the charges against him. On the charge of speaking treasonously to the king, More said that he had given Henry honest and truthful answers whenever asked his opinion. To do otherwise would make him a flatterer and toady. Another charge was that he had refused to sign a paper agreeing to Henry's authority, while also refusing to give a reason for doing so. The interrogator said that his silence stated his true feelings on the matter, but More countered that, traditionally, silence gives consent. Therefore, he argued, nothing could be taken from his refusal except the assumption that he tacitly agreed.
Alex drew a line on the chalkboard, and on the other side wrote Jeanne d'Arc. "Nearly one hundred years before, Joan of Arc was a peasant girl in France who, after disguising herself as a man, infiltrated the army and led them to some stunning victories in the ongoing war. Joan claimed that the voice of God had compelled her. In a modern court, a defendant claiming to hear the voice of God would receive a psychiatric work-up, but at the time, in France, the charge was heresy.
"The interrogation of Joan of Arc, therefore, hinged on a number of theological questions, ones where the questioners hoped that Joan would say something that might condemn her as a heretic or undermine the rest of her testimony. Instead, she walked a very fine line. When asked if she was in God's grace -- if He Himself approved of her actions, essentially, a question where 'yes' implies blasphemy and 'no' implies sin -- she said, 'If I am not, may God put me there, and if I am, may God keep me there.' Later, when asked if these visions and apparitions hadn't failed her, as she had been taken prisoner, she argued that it must have been God's will for her to be taken prisoner.
Finally, Alex set the chalk down and dusted her hands off. "Both Joan of Arc and Thomas More tried to sidestep the pertinent questions in a way that would let them hold to both their religious convictions and their lives. Unfortunately, this is where we get to the major drawback of this approach. If a governing body wants you dead or discredited this badly, then the trial's not much more than a formality. Both were found guilty and executed."
Re: During the Lecture - TRI03