Thought this was a pretty interesting story.

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Pensioner invokes 1,000-year-old Norman ritual of dropping to her knees and 'crying for justice' to try to stop roadworks in Guernsey going ahead

By CHARLIE BAYLISS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 15:02 EDT, 15 August 2018 | UPDATED: 15:03 EDT, 15 August 2018

A pensioner managed to stop building works when she dropped down to her knees in the middle of the street and recited a 1,000-year-old Norman ritual.

Rosie Henderson, 70, sat in the road outside a controversial building site and recited the Clameur de Haro - a Norman custom of 'crying for justice'.

Ms Henderson, from Guernsey, then shouted 'Haro! Haro! Haro! A l'aide, mon Prince, on me fait tort', then 'Come to my aid, my Prince, for someone does me wrong' as baffled spectators watched on.

To cap off her ritual, she then said the Lord's Prayer in Norman French before heading to officials with a complaint.

Her actions meant workers had to down tools and granted her 24 hours to pursue an injunction on the construction project in the courts.

The Clameur de Haro is an ancient legal injunction of restraint which can be used by a person who feels they are being wronged by another at that moment.

The ancient law is still enforceable in Jersey and Guernsey and is used rarely in matters affecting land.

She said she was objecting to the narrowing of a road which would make way for new luxury apartments.

She said: 'The clameur is sudden and absolute - The law states that when the clameur is raised all work must stop.

'I've always known about the clameur, everyone in Guernsey knows about it, but it very rarely gets used.

'I wanted the work on this proposed eradication of highway to stop - the buildings are built, that's a different argument.

'I want the case to be properly looked at and not just glossed over.'

Ms Henderson said the land being used for the garden is managed by the States of Guernsey. That is being leased to developer Comprop at a 'peppercorn rate', according to Ms Henderson.

She added: 'It may be more attractive, particularly for the apartments. But it does not benefit anyone in the local area and it is endangering pedestrians mobility.

'It was terrifying, it's not a thing to be taken light heartedly.'

Despite losing her court hearing, Ms Henderson said she was not giving up.

She said: 'I did all the right things in the right way but the clameur failed on a point of law.

'There are five criteria in the law of the clameur which has been translated in more recent times but it goes back to the Duke of Harrow.

'The point of law was that the clameurant has to own the land that the wrong is being done to.

'My opinion is that the land is owned by the States of Guernsey for the people of Guernsey and I am one of the people of Guernsey.

'The judge ruled that it didn't meet the criteria of land ownership.'

Now Rosie is considering a legal appeal instead.

She continued: 'There is a Royal Court case, I could appeal it. I would need a lot of support from other people in Guernsey who would stand with me and be counted.

'There's plenty of people who say this isn't right, blah blah blah, but people need to stand up and support me.'

Now that's actually interesting news!

I thought that was a pretty odd story since Guernsey, WY is a pretty small place. Population 1,147 as of the 2010 census. I am guessing they are not referring to Guernsey, Wyoming.

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:
I thought that was a pretty odd story since Guernsey, WY is a pretty small place. Population 1,147 as of the 2010 census. I am guessing they are not referring to Guernsey, Wyoming.

LOL. Yeah, I had to look it up. Google Earth

Guernsey Island

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernsey

Isn't that where Guernsey cows originated?

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
Isn't that where Guernsey cows originated?

flashguy

Yup

Interesting read. I'm impressed that the workers knew what it was, and that they honored it.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
Isn't that where Guernsey cows originated?

flashguy

Yup

They're good swimmers?

Guernsey is Crown Dependency, hence the lawsuit in the Royal Courts.

I bet there are people who now regret separating Guernsey from the Duchy of Normandy in 1204.

But good on her for know the history and culture of her home.

I opened this thread hoping it would have something to do with “Droit de Seigneur”. No such luck.

Been through there (the Wyoming one).
Not much except for a military base (didn't even see any Guernsey cows).

PC

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:
I thought that was a pretty odd story since Guernsey, WY is a pretty small place. Population 1,147 as of the 2010 census. I am guessing they are not referring to Guernsey, Wyoming.

Here's an interesting little 'snippette'. Because William, Duke of Normandy already exercised seigneurie over the Channel Islands - Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark - BEFORE his successful invasion of mainland England in 1066, they are all, technically, senior to the remainder of the British Isles in terms of 'Souvereintie', a word meaning, in Old Norman French, 'held under the reign of XXXX'.

Just another example of the hundreds of thousands of useless factoids swimming around in my ol' brain.

tac

I have wanted to visit there for years. Maybe it's getting close to time.

For more about them, one of Tony Robinson's "Walking Through History" episodes on Amazon Prime Video is about the Channel Islands and their occupation by the Germans during WWII.

quote:

Originally posted by PCWyoming:
Been through there (the Wyoming one).
Not much except for a military base (didn't even see any Guernsey cows).

PC

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:
I thought that was a pretty odd story since Guernsey, WY is a pretty small place. Population 1,147 as of the 2010 census. I am guessing they are not referring to Guernsey, Wyoming.

The only reason I even know of Guernsey, WY is because of the reservoir!

Every time I hear someone say Jersey, I think of the shit hole Garden State (where I grew up). The other side of the pond is not what enters my mind first. I'm from Jersey....what exit?