Trial by Fire and Water: The Medieval Judicial Ordeal

by Robert Bartlett

In trial by ordeal the accused was subjected to some harsh test--holding hot iron, being cast into a pool of water--with guilt or innocence decided according to the outcome. Although a strange and alien custom, trial by ordeal has been an important legal procedure in many regions and periods.
Robert Bartlett here examines the workings of trial by ordeal from the time it first appeared in the barbarian law codes, tracing its use by Christian societies to its last days as a test of withcraft in Europe and America. He discusses recent theories about the operation and decline of the
practice, shedding new light on both the ordeal as a working institution and the pressure for its abolition.

Genres: History, Medieval History, Law, Medieval

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Robert Bartlett, CBE, FBA, FRSE is Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Mediaeval History Emeritus at the University of St Andrews.

Reviews

[Vincent Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty enjoyable monograph on the use of trial by ordeal in early European law. Traces the origin of the practice of using hot iron, or dunking in water for judicial resolution of disputes. Turns out it started out as a pre-christian practice but was spread based on the growth of the Christian Frankish expansion. Very interesting on how the spread of the practice tracked the spread of Frankish influence. The author does a good job explaining the internal logic of the trial by ordeal, which was mostly reserved for individuals who could not resolve judicial dispute by swearing oaths (either their word was no good because they had previously prejured, they were of a status where their oaths meant little, or they were foreigners or the crimes were hidden, i.e. heresy, adultery). There was also the phenomenon of cities being exempt from ordeal, which the author explains is driven by powerful boroughs that managed to bargain for the privilege of avoiding ordeals, and not because of differences in values (everyone wanted to avoid the ordeal, it was often a tool imposed on others). There were individuals who had consistently questioned the use of the ordeal, in particular because the ordeal by fire required divine intervention (the hand would not be burned or would heal quickly) while the ordeal by water (guilt if a person was "rejected" by the water and floated) seemed to require the opposite intervention not to mention those who thought that the ordeals were unreliable because of the natural tendencies of physical objects. Finally, the monograph explains well the end of the practice, which was mostly theological. Some theologians argued that the ordeals was a tempting of God, by forcing him to reveal judgment, or that God could spare those who confessed or repented before the ordeal, or God would save judgment for crimes for later. Once these two latter explanations are admitted, then the ordeal loses its utility as a device to reveal the answer to particular disputes, since God could spare someone an ordeal and punish later or spare a repenting guilty party. The Church's banning of priests from participating by blessing the ordeals signaled the end of the ordeal system (both to avoid tempting God, since the ordeal was not a sacrament, and to avoid involving priests in the shedding of blood). Without the blessings, the ordeals were not considered legitimate and the practice ended soon after. The book does a neat job explaining that the change was truly theological imposition from top down (it didn't help that ordeals were not mentioned in the Bible or Roman law), various religious institutions actually profited from ordeals because they had the privilege of running them, so it was against their monetary interest to end ordeals (and many had resisted the end of the ordeal) and the clergy did not just seek clerical immunity from ordeals but the end of the practice (which was replaced in many places by judicial torture, and which persisted for witchcraft charges until witchcraft was no longer prosecuted). This is contrasted to ordeal by battle (used in some places to resolve criminal charges), which had a longer life span because it did not require priests to seek divine intervention, though since many people had experiences with battle, it was never as trusted as much as ordeal by water or fire. There is an interesting distinction between mere feuding, battles that resolved the conflict and true judicial duels. The judicial duel also survived for slightly longer because it was associated with aristocratic status (it lingered as a sign of class). Overall an interesting historical read. Dense and packed with information, very worth a read for anyone interested in the subject.

[Jacob Lines · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is some very interesting legal history. You may have heard of trial by ordeal, in which legal cases were decided by putting a person through some sort of a challenge, such as floating in water or holding a piece of hot iron. This book tells the history of trial by ordeal in medieval Europe. It traces it from its introduction by the Franks to its final abandonment in the 1600s or so. In doing so, it shows the diversity of opinion about it, including both support for it and opposition to it within the Church. It finally explains why trial by ordeal went extinct as other more reliable evidentiary procedures were introduced. It is a short read with lots of instructive detals and explains the logic behind something that we today see as completely illogical.

[Elliot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jargon and over complication of sentences made this cumbersome to read but overall pretty informative