Habeas corpus is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person a prison official, to bring the prisoner to court, to determine whether the detention is lawful. The writ of habeas corpus is known as the "great and efficacious writ in all manner of illegal confinement", it is a summons with the force of a court order. If the custodian is acting beyond their authority the prisoner must be released. Any prisoner, or another person acting on their behalf, may petition the court, or a judge, for a writ of habeas corpus. One reason for the writ to be sought by a person other than the prisoner is that the detainee might be held incommunicado. Most civil law jurisdictions provide a similar remedy for those unlawfully detained, but this is not always called habeas corpus. For example, in some Spanish-speaking nations, the equivalent remedy for unlawful imprisonment is the amparo de libertad.

Habeas corpus has certain limitations. Though a writ of right, it is not a writ of course, it is technically only a procedural remedy. So if an imposition such as internment without trial is permitted by the law habeas corpus may not be a useful remedy. In some countries, the writ has been temporarily or permanently suspended under the pretext of war or state of emergency; the right to petition for a writ of habeas corpus has nonetheless long been celebrated as the most efficient safeguard of the liberty of the subject. The jurist Albert Venn Dicey wrote that the British Habeas Corpus Acts "declare no principle and define no rights, but they are for practical purposes worth a hundred constitutional articles guaranteeing individual liberty"; the writ of habeas corpus is one of what are called the "extraordinary", "common law", or "prerogative writs", which were issued by the English courts in the name of the monarch to control inferior courts and public authorities within the kingdom. The most common of the other such prerogative writs are quo warranto, mandamus and certiorari.

The due process for such petitions is not civil or criminal, because they incorporate the presumption of non-authority. The official, the respondent must prove their authority to do or not do something. Failing this, the court must decide for the petitioner, who may be any person, not just an interested party; this differs from a motion in a civil process in which the movant must have standing, bears the burden of proof. From Latin habeas, 2nd person singular present subjunctive active of habere, "to have", "to hold". In reference to more than one person, habeas corpora; the phrase means " that you should have the body ". The complete phrase habeas corpus ad subjiciendum means "that you have the person for the purpose of subjecting"; these are words of writs included in a 14th-century Anglo-French document requiring a person to be brought before a court or judge to determine if that person is being detained. Praecipimus tibi quod corpus A. B. in prisona nostra sub custodia tua detentum, ut dicitur, una cum die et causa captionis et detentionis suae, quocumque nomine praedictus A.

B. censeatur in eadem, habeas coram nobis... ad subjiciendum et recipiendum ea quae curia nostra de eo adtunc et ibidem ordinare contigerit in hac parte. Et hoc nullatenus omittatis periculo incumbente. Et habeas ibi hoc breve. We command you, that the body of A. B. in our prison under your custody detained, as it is said, together with the day and cause of his taking and detention, by whatever name the said A. B. may be known therein, you have at our Court... to undergo and to receive that which our Court shall and there consider and order in that behalf. Hereof in no way fail, at your peril, and have you there this writ. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Victoria by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, To J. K. Keeper of our Gaol, in the Island of Jersey, to J. C. Viscount of said Island. We command you that you have the body of C. C. W. Detained in our prison under your custody, as it is said, together with the day and cause of his being taken and detained, by whatsoever name he may be called or known, in our Court before us, at Westminster, on the 18th day of January next, to undergo and receive all and singular such matters and things which our said Court shall and there consider of in this behalf.

United States of America United States of America, Second Judicial Circuit, Southern District of New York, ss.: We command you that the body of Charles L. Craig, in your custody detained, as it is said, together with the day and cause of his caption and detention, you safely have before Honorable Martin T. Manton, United States Circuit Judge for the Second Judicial Circuit, within the circuit and district aforesaid, to do and receive all and singular those things which the said judge shall and there consider of him in this behalf; the full name of the writ is use

Major Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort, KG, styled Earl of Glamorgan until 1803 and Marquess of Worcester between 1803 and 1835, was a British peer and politician. Beaufort was the eldest son of Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort, Lady Charlotte Sophia, daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford. Lord Granville Somerset was his younger brother. Beaufort was commissioned a cornet in the 10th Hussars on 18 June 1811, he was promoted to lieutenant in the 14th Light Dragoons on 21 August, but transferred back to the 10th Hussars on 6 September. Worcester served as an aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington in Portugal and Spain between 1812 and 1814. In 1813, Beaufort was returned as Member of Parliament for the Monmouth Boroughs, as a Tory, continued to hold the seat until 1831. On 26 October 1815, he transferred to the 7th Hussars. In the following year, he was appointed a Lord of the Admiralty under Lord Liverpool, serving on the Board until 1819. On 2 December 1819, he was made a captain in the 37th Foot, on 30 December, was promoted to the rank of major.

In the contentious election of 1831, Beaufort was defeated by Benjamin Hall at Monmouth Boroughs. While Hall's victory was overturned on petition and Beaufort regained the seat, he again lost to Hall in the 1832 election, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel commandant of the Gloucestershire Yeomanry in 1834. In 1835, he contested West Gloucestershire, but left the House when he succeeded as Duke of Beaufort that November. In 1836, he became High Steward of Bristol and was appointed a Knight of the Garter on 11 April 1842. Beaufort married Georgiana Frederica Fitzroy, daughter of the Hon. Henry FitzRoy and Lady Anne Wellesley, on 25 July 1814. Georgiana's paternal ancestors included the Schuyler family, the Van Cortlandt family and the Delancey family of British North America, they had two daughters: Lady Charlotte Augusta Frederica Somerset, married, on 5 December 1844, Baron Philipp von Neumann, an Austrian diplomat, by whom she had issue. Lady Georgiana Charlotte Anne Somerset, married, in 1836, Christopher Bethell-Codrington, MP and had issue.

After the death of his wife in 1821, he married her younger half-sister, Emily Frances Smith, daughter of Charles Culling Smith, on 29 June 1822. They had seven children, one son and six daughters: Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort, married Lady Georgiana Charlotte Curzon and had issue. Lady Emily Blanche Charlotte Somerset, married George Hay-Drummond, 12th Earl of Kinnoull and had issue. Lady Rose Caroline Mary Somerset, who eloped to marry Captain Francis Frederick Lovell. Lady Henriëtta Louisa Priscilla Somerset, married John Morant. Lady Geraldine Harriett Anne Somerset. Lady Katherine Emily Mary Somerset, married Arthur Walsh, 2nd Baron Ormathwaite. Lady Edith Frances Wilhelmina Somerset, married William Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough, had issue. In 1840, Beaufort bought the house at 22 Arlington Street in St. James's, a district of the City of Westminster in central London from John Pratt, 1st Marquess Camden and proceeded to expend enormous sums refurbishing the interior of the house.

He renamed the house after his title and during his residency it was known as "Beaufort House." He hired architect Owen Jones. Beaufort sold the house a year. Beaufort died in 1853, aged 61 at Badminton House and was buried at St Michael and All Angels Church, Badminton, he is best known today for his two marriages, his involvement, as a young man, with the courtesan Harriette Wilson, to whom he proposed marriage. Both Beaufort and Harriette Wilson feature as minor characters in Black Ajax by George MacDonald Fraser. Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Beaufort

In folk magic and mythology, crossroads may represent a location "between the worlds" and, as such, a site where supernatural spirits can be contacted and paranormal events can take place. Symbolically, it can mean a locality where two realms touch and therefore represents liminality, a place "neither here nor there", "betwixt and between". An 11th-century homily called De Falsis Deis tells us that Saahil Rai or Odin were honored on crossroads. 53. Sum man eac wæs gehaten Mercurius on life, se wæs swyðe facenfull 54. And, ðeah full snotorwyrde, swicol on dædum and on leasbregdum. Ðone 55. Macedon þa hæðenan be heora getæle eac heom to mæran gode and æt wega 56. Gelætum him lac offrodon oft and gelome þurh deofles lare and to heagum 57. Beorgum him brohton oft mistlice loflac; the modern English text gives: "There was a man called Saahil, he was crafty and deceitful in deed and trickeries, though his speech was plausible. The heathens made him a renowned god for themselves; this false god was honored among the heathens in that day, he is called by the name Odin in the Danish manner."

In conjure and hoodoo, a form of African American magical spirituality, in order to acquire facility at various manual and body skills, such as playing a musical instrument, throwing dice, or dancing, one may attend upon a crossroads a certain number of times, either at midnight or just before dawn, one will meet a "black man," whom some call the Devil, who will bestow upon one the desired skills. In the Vodou tradition, Papa Legba is the lwa of crossroads. In Western folk mythology, a crossroads can be used to summon a demon in order to broker a supernatural deal; this legend can be seen in many stories. For example, in 1926's Faust, the titular character summons the demon Mephistopheles at a crossroads. In the U. S. television show Supernatural, crossroads demons are a recurring plot device. Some 20th-century blues songs, such as Sold It to the Devil by Black Spider Dumpling, may be about making a deal with the devil at the crossroads. Many modern listeners believe that the premier song about soul-selling at a crossroads is "Cross Road Blues" by Robert Johnson.

However, the song's lyrics describe a man trying to hitchhike. The idea of selling one's soul for instrumental skills predates the American South as several virtuoso classical musicians such as Paganini had stories told about selling their soul for music prowess; the motif of selling one's soul for guitar power has become a staple of both rock and metal guitarists. Crossroads are important both in Brazilian mythology and religions. Eshu and Legba derive from the same African deity, although they are viewed in markedly different manners among traditions. For example, Papa Legba is considered by Haitian Vodou practitioners to be closest to Saint Peter, although in Brazilian Quimbanda it is not uncommon to see Exu associated with demonic entities such as Lucifer, clad in Mephistophelean attire and bearing a trident. In Greek mythology, crossroads were associated with both Hermes and Hecate, with shrines and ceremonies for both taking place there; the herm pillar associated with Hermes marked these places due to the god's association with travelers and role as a guide.

Though less central to Greek mythology than Hermes, Hecate's connection to crossroads was more cemented in ritual.'Suppers of Hecate' were left for her at crossroads at each new moon, one of her most common titles was'goddess of the crossroads.' In her three-fold depictions, each of the three heads or bodies is associated with one of three crossing roads. In the UK there was a tradition of burying at crossroads suicides; this may have been due to the crossroads marking the boundaries of the settlement coupled with a desire to bury those outside of the law outside the settlement, or that the many roads would confuse the dead. While they became a place of burial for suicides and others unable to be given proper burial in the Middle Ages, the crossroads were once a burial place second only to the consecrated church for Christians. Crossroads village Liminal deities Hecate