Trial by Ordeal and Trial by Combat | A Not So Fair Way of Dealing out Justice
Medieval Madness - A podcast by Hit The Lights
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In most European countries today, we use the premise that a person is presumed innocent unless they have been proven guilty. At trial, evidence has to be produced so that a jury or a judge can decide on the culpability of the accused. But during the Middle Ages when someone was suspected of a crime, and they were actually innocent it was believed that God would intervene on their behalf. So, they were made to go through a physical trial and the ‘Judgement of God’ would enable them to prove it...