What was used commonly in trial by ordeal?

There were two main forms of ordeal – fire and water – with God being seen as determining guilt through the result. For fire, the accused had to carry a red-hot bar of iron and walk 9ft (3m). If the wound healed cleanly within three days, they were innocent. But if it festered, guilty.

What were the three types of trial by ordeal in the Middle Ages?

Lesson Summary

  • Ordeal by hot water: the accused would reach into a pot of boiling water and retrieve an object.
  • Ordeal by hot iron: the accused person would carry a burning hot iron so many paces without being burned to prove their innocence.
  • Ordeal by cold water: the accused was dunked into a pool of water.

Was trial by ordeal used in the Middle Ages?

Trials by ordeal became rarer over the Late Middle Ages, but the practice was not discontinued until the 16th century. Certain trials by ordeal would continue to be used into the 17th century in witch-hunts.

What is ordeal by boiling water?

The Ordeal by Hot Water required the accused person to put their hand into a pot of boiling water to retrieve an object. Those who were guilty would be burned by the boiling water, but the innocent would not be burned, thanks to divine intervention to protect the wrongly accused.

What are the two types of trial by ordeal?

What is red-hot iron ordeal?

The hot iron ordeal involved a defendant carrying a red-hot iron bar and, as with other trials by ordeal, tended to be used by the powers that be when there were no witnesses to a crime or when the word of the accused was not deemed wholly credible.

How did trials work in medieval times?

The two methods used most typically in England were trial by cold water and trial by hot iron. In trial by cold water, a person would be dunked into a cistern. If they sank, they would be declared innocent, because the water had accepted them. If they floated, they would be declared guilty.

What is donkey tail ordeal?

Donkey’s Tail Ordeal is an early method of detecting deception. It is an ancient way of knowing whether a person is telling the truth or not. Donkey’s Tail Ordeal was used in India around 500 BC. A person suspected of theft is subjected to a test to determine his/her guilt.

What is ordeal by cold water?

An ancient method of testing the guilt or innocence of the common sort of people. The accused, being tied under the arms, was thrown into a river. If he sank to the bottom, he was held to be guiltless, and drawn up by the cord; but if he floated, the water rejected him, because of his guilt.

What was trial by blessed bread?

Trial by blessed bread Usually taken by men. The accused was tied with a knot above the waist and lowered into the water on the end of a rope. If the accused sank below God’s ‘pure water’ then he was judged innocent. If the accused floated, then he had been ‘rejected’ by the pure water and was found guilty.