Trial by ordeal

Trial by ordeal is a judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused is determined by subjecting them to a painful task. If either the task is completed without injury, or the injuries sustained are healed quickly, the accused is considered innocent. Like trial by combat, it was a judicium Dei: a procedure based on the premise that God would help the innocent.

Related Topics:
Trial by combat - God

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Common throughout the world in the past, the process survived until The Age of Enlightenment in western Europe and longer elsewhere.

Related Topics:
The Age of Enlightenment - Europe

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The ordeal was, in Europe, often by fire or water -- red-hot metal in the first instance and boiling water in the second. The exact use of the ordeal varied considerably, a Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon practice was for the accused to walk nine paces with a red-hot iron bar held in both hands. Depending on the custom of the time innocence would be shown by a complete lack of injury from the ordeal or the wounds would be bound and regularly examined for healing or festering. An English version had nine red-hot ploughshares placed on the floor, the accused was blindfolded and if they successfully crossed the floor without injury they were judged innocent.

Related Topics:
Scandinavia - Anglo-Saxon

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