Trial by Ordeal and Trial by Combat

Trial by ordeal was the way of judging an accused person. The idea was that God would decide who was guilty and who was innocent. So the man or woman had to take a test. The result would show God's verdict. If God, through the ordeal, said 'guilty', the accused was punished.

In ordeal by fire, the accused had to walk a few paces, carrying a piece of red-hot iron in the palm of his or her hand. The hand was burned, so it was bandaged. After three days, the judges took off the bandage and looked at the burned hand. If it was starting to heal, the person was innocent. If it was not healing, he was guilty.

Ordeal by water was simpler. The accused was thrown into a pond. If he sank, he was innocent. (If he was lucky he was fished out before he drowned.) If he floated, he was guilty.

In trial by combat, the man who brought the charge had to fight the person he accused. The first one to be knocked down had to admit he was in the wrong. Women and children could hire 'champions' to fight for them.

By the year 1300, trial by ordeal had been given up. Instead, a jury decided whether the accused was guilty or not. Trial by combat lasted a little longer. But it too has been abolished. A thief cannot now offer to fight his accuser!

Walter Robson: Medieval Britain; Oxford University Press, 1991/2000, page 92 f.