At last Henri de Verdun, who became Bishop of Liége in 1075, resolved to stop, if possible, the private wars which were the scourge of society. He assembled the nobles of the Principality and the surrounding districts, and urged upon them the necessity of at least making an effort to put an end to the ceaseless strife in which they lived. 'The only means I can think of,' he said, 'is to choose a supreme judge, with power to punish those who are guilty of excesses.' The nobles consented to this proposal. He himself was appointed to the new office, and his successors in the bishopric of Liége were declared, for all time coming, judges of the 'Court of Peace.' [Illustration: ESCALIER DE LA FONTAINE, LIÉGE] The rules of the 'Tribunal de Paix de Liége' decreed that on certain days it was unlawful to carry arms, and that any freeman who committed murder or acts of violence should be deprived of his estate and expelled from the Principality, while a slave was to be punished by the loss of whatever he might possess, and have his right hand cut off. From Wednesday to Monday, during the festivals of the Church, the _Trève de Dieu_ was to be strictly observed. The Peace Tribunal was to decide cases of assassination, rape, incendiarism, robbery, and other offences which might lead to a breach of the public peace. Anyone who did not appear before the court, after being duly cited, was to be declared infamous, and was liable to a sentence of excommunication. But the accused could--such was the warlike spirit of the times--always claim to have his case decided by judicial combat. The Dukes of Bouillon and Limbourg, together with the Counts of Luxembourg, Louvain, Namur, Hainaut, Montaigu, Clermont, and La Roche, signed the Act which established the 'Tribunal de Paix '; and they all swore to obey its decisions, except the Count of La Roche, who refused to take any oath whatever.