Magdeburg has reconvened its medieval court for a full week, summoning every judge, scribe and plaintiff of the old city law to sit in the Johanniskirche until the award ceremony is concluded. The city council confirmed that the proceedings will be conducted in the manner of the thirteenth century, with the plaintiffs standing and the accused kneeling on straw.
The occasion is the bestowal of the Eike-von-Repgow Prize on the Polish historian Maciej Mikula, who has spent his career tracing how Magdeburg law travelled east and shaped the courts of Eastern Europe. Mayor Simone Borris presented the award, which carries a purse of 2500 euros, and then rose to announce that the city would henceforth hold a ceremonial hearing every second year, in keeping with the prize's rhythm.
The city's administration has already requisitioned forty wooden benches from three schools and a brewery, and the Otto-von-Guericke University has assigned its law faculty to act as the sworn assessors. Rector Jens Strackeljan told reporters that students will be required to memorise the Sachsenspiegel before they may enter the lecture halls.
Asked whether the court would also sit in judgement upon the mayor's own budget, a council spokesman replied: «The law of Magdeburg has always applied to the mayor, and the mayor has always accepted it, usually on the day of the hearing.»