100 v.C. - Onze 'dinsdag' komt van de Germanen. Het 'ding' was de vergadering van alle belangrijke vrije mannen binnen een Germaanse gemeenschap.
Among the Germanic tribes, legal disputes were settled at the ‘ding.’ The ‘ding’ was a gathering of all the leading freemen within the community. The word ‘ding’ still lingers on in Dutch words like ‘dinsdag’ (Tuesday) and ‘geding’ (a law suit). The word is connected with ‘Tyr’, the Germanic god of war. Tyr also played a part in enforcing the law. Perhaps disputes were settled at the ‘ding’ by single combat, with the god of war acting as supreme arbiter. After all, it was the gods who ensured the right outcome.
Rooted in the ground and stretching up into the sky, trees connect heaven and earth. This is why the Germanic tribes made sacrifices to their gods beside sacred trees. But ‘the tree’ was also a favourite gathering place for talk and negotiation. This gave rise to the tradition of holding law courts under trees. In some places in the Netherlands, gerechtslindes (court lindens) remained in use until well into the nineteenth century. This old photo shows one of them in Eersel, North Brabant.