ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at some of the recorded mechanisms for dealing with disputes in northern Iberia in the tenth century, deals with them in practice rather than in theory, and think about how they compare with Welsh and with Breton procedures of that time. It focuses on the tenth century, since that is the first well documented century in Spain and Portugal and since it is a period before some changes in practice. The Iberian material comes from northern Spain and northern Portugal, since it is the north that produces the texts. There is also much less evidence of secular court activity in Wales than in Iberia or Brittany – certainly a consequence of the documentation available but perhaps also a comment on practice. The cases cited indicate that there were procedures for court settlement in Spain and Portugal and officers of the law to administer them.
