The sessions were often held in secret, whence the names of "secret court" (German: heimliches Gericht), "silent court" (German: Stillgericht), etc. Attendance of secret sessions was forbidden to the uninitiated, on pain of death, which led to the designation "forbidden courts" (German: verbotene Gerichte). A chairman (German: Stuhlherr) presided over the court, and lay judges (German: Freischöffen) passed judgment. The court also constituted a Holy Order.[8]| en.m.wikipedia.org