On the material of archival documents first put into circulation (primarily the judicial registers of the Paris Parliament), the book explores the problem of relationships, communication and direct contacts between the judiciary and subjects in France of the late Middle Ages. The features of the behavior and speech of the accused in the courtroom, their attitude to power and law, the attitude of judges to their own power, their understanding of the judicial process and the institution of compulsory recognition, as well as judicial ritual as one of the languages ​ ​ of medieval justice, as a way of communicating power with its subjects. Particular attention is paid to the construction of the judicial protocol, the specifics of its form, style and vocabulary. For historians, lawyers and a wide range of readers.