Turtledove
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John
Fictional Character
"Farmers' Law"
Set in OTL
Nationality: Byzantine Empire
Religion: Eastern Orthodox
Occupation: Farmer

John was a farmer in Abrostola. Like many others in the village, he'd had a conflict with another farmer named Theodore in the past: Theodore had killed an ox belonging to John, claiming that the ox had tresspassed on Theodore's land. While the Farmers' Law would probably have ruled in John's favor, he didn't have the clout to beat the more prosperous Theodore.

Thus, when Theodore was found murdered, John (a man with a bad temper) was an obvious suspect during Father George's investigation. He even attempted to place the blame on the village smith, Demetrios, who'd also had a conflict with Theodore. Ironically, he was right.

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