The ecclesiastical courts, until the time when Henry VIII took over the church, dealt with family matters such as marriage, annulments, marriage portions and settlements of money or goods, legitimacy, undue wifebeating, child abuse, orphans, bigamy, adultery, incest, fornication, and separations between husband and wife. There were no divorces. They also dealt during this time with drunkenness, personal possessions, defamation, slander which did not cause material loss (and therefore had no remedy in the temporal courts), libel, perjury, usury, mortuaries [the second best beast or fees at death], sacrilege, sorcery, witchcraft, blasphemy [speaking ill of God], heresy [a belief by a baptized person that is knowingly contrary to the doctrine of the church], tithe payments, oblations for performing the Eucharist including expenses for the bread and wine, church fees such as for the clergy and the poor, simony [buying or selling ecclesiastical preferment or pardons], pensions, certain offenses on consecrated ground, and breaches of promises under oath, e.g. to pay a debt, provide services, or deliver goods. They decided inheritance and will issues which did not concern land, but only personal property. This developed from the practice of a priest usually hearing a dying person's will as to the disposition of his goods and chattel when he made his last confession. So the church court came to determine the validity of wills, interpret them, regulate their created testamentary executors, and determine the legatees. It also came to determine intestate matters. It provided guardianship of infants during probate of their personal property. Trial was first by compurgation, with oath-helpers swearing to or against the veracity of the alleged offender's oath.