In a manor village the working year followed the farming seasons. When two villagers quarrelled at harvest time over the boundary between their strips, where was the dispute settled?

Explanation

Local business, from boundaries and stray animals to the dues a tenant had failed to pay, was dealt with on the estate itself, where the custom at issue was known and the neighbours could give evidence about it. A royal court is the plausible-looking alternative, because the king's justice did exist alongside the local one, yet it dealt with serious crimes and with great men rather than the everyday affairs of one village.