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What was trial by ordeal?

Trial by ordeal was a means of determining guilt or innocence through infliction of injury. It was used after the collapse of the Roman Empire (c. 476) in Europe, when the laws of various Germanic tribes took the place of Roman law, which had been set by Roman emperor Justinian I (A.D. 483–565). In trial by ordeal a person accused of having committed a crime was injured in some way (the ordeal). For example, the person might be branded with a heated iron bar; if the injury healed within a certain period of time—usually three days—the person was determined to be innocent. If the wound did not heal, the person was found guilty. This method of judging guilt or innocence was also called divination because it involved discovering by supernatural means whether or not someone was guilty.

Further Information: Biel, Timothy Levi. The Crusades. San Diego: Lucent, 1995;...

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