The most curious ways to know if a person was innocent or guilty of a crime in medieval times

This period covers the fifth and sixth centuries. It is also known as post-Roman Britain or early medieval times. And as in all times there are also trials, how to know if a person was innocent or guilty of a crime? ... For example, a robbery.

A curious way of knowing was using the ordeal or Judgment of God, in other words, they did not gather evidence, or seek witnesses, or deliberate the matter, just expected a Divine intervention and that established the innocence or guilt of the person.

Some of these ordeals were peculiar, such as:

The ordeal of the tied (by water): They tied the thumb of the foot to the wrist and then they threw it into the river. If he floated he was guilty and if he went down he was innocent ... but he would probably die drowned

The ordeal by fire: It consisted in holding a bar of burning iron while walking three steps, then the wounds were healed and if in three days gangrene or not healed was guilty ... but a burn usually takes a few weeks to heal.

The ordeal by cake: This consisted of eating a piece of cake, and if it was drowned, it was declared guilty. If he did not drown he was innocent ... This ordeal seemed simple, but it is said that in 1053 Count Godwin of Wessex chose this "judgment of God" and drowned. Later it was mentioned that he had a stroke.

If the ordeal declared him guilty of committing the robbery, then they punished him by cutting off his feet and hands, sometimes they were his ears and hands. They also marked an "F" on his forehead so that people would take care of them. And that's how the trial ended ... Do you think they could still steal things without their hands?

Over time the ordeal began to spread throughout Europe, added more types of ordeals and were used until the late middle ages.

Reference: Book “Historia de las creencias. supersticiones usos y costumbres” . Fernando Nicolay

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