 In terms of its organizational structure, however, the court system was still essentially medieval.Original jurisdiction over most civil and criminal matters resided with local princes () in some regions, with the estates of the realm () in others, with petty landlords in parts of the countryside, and with proto-democratic municipal governments in certain cities.Clergy, aristocracy, transients, or members of guilds could be subject to claims of jurisdiction based not on locale or subject matter but purely on social class.