The Middle Ages is infamous for its “medieval justice”. There were various methods for determining an accused’s guilt or innocence. Trial by compurgation involved the accused and the accuser getting as many people to swear an oath in your favor. Whoever got the most supporters won the case. I’m sure there was no bribery or lying, God wouldn’t put up with that. The other forms of justice relied on Judicum Dei (the Judgment of God). Trial by Combat was the most famous method. The accused and the accuser would duel and God would aid the innocent (even if he was a wimp). It was pretty much limited to the nobility, in other words, the knights. And then there was Trial by Ordeal. There were various versions, but all involved bodily harm. Trial by Fire usually involved reaching into a pot of boiling water to pull out a stone. Or it could be grasping a hot iron. Regardless, your burnt hand was then wrapped up and God was given three days to heal you. If the unwrapping revealed blistered skin, you were guilty. As unjust as this sounds, there may have been some justice to it. Think about it. If you were guilty, you knew God would not heal you, so why put yourself through the pain. Make it easy on yourself and confess. (By the way, Trial by Ordeal took the place of torture for confessions.) If you were innocent, you would probably trust in God and demand the chance to prove your innocence. The priests who conducted the ordeal behind closed doors could judge the person to be innocent and not heat the water or the iron very much and thus ensure that God “heal” the wound. Justice served.
0 Comments