Trial by Ordeal- questions Laura.docx - Trial by Ordeal 1....

Trial by Ordeal
1. Define the term Trial by Ordeal. Trial by ordeal is an act of submitting a person who
was accused of a crime into a dangerous situation to let the outcome decide if they are
innocent or guilty. The accused is being judged by God!
2. Why was this method of determining guilt and innocence used during the Middle Ages.
It was said to be a trial before God. The person who is accused is being judged by God.
3. Give an example of how trial by ordeal was used in the Bible. In the book of numbers
there is a story of a wife who is instructed to drink contaminated water as a test before her
husband, priest and God. If the water didn’t harm her this declared that she was innocent
but if she became sick, she would be proved guilty and would be executed.
4. What role did the Coroner play in these trials? The medieval coroner had to be present
at some barbaric rites connected with the law. They would need to be present at these
ordeals. The coroner was always present to record the happenings of the ordeals.
5. Describe the ordeal trial method of fire explained in the article. The suspect had to
carry a bar of red-hot iron in his hands as he walked to nine marked spots. If there were
no burns on his hands this means that he was judged innocent because God helped the
suspect. If there was burn it showed that they were guilty and were hanged. A variation of
this was licking the hot iron with the tongue or running barefoot on nine red-hot
ploughshares.
6. Do you think this method of trial proves guilt or innocence? why or why not. No, I do
not think that this method proves guilt or innocence because everyone is going to get a
burn if they touch an insanely hot iron.
7. Explain the ordeal trial method of water. This is when the accused were thrown into
and if they sank, they were proved innocent but if they floated it meant they were guilty
and hung.
8. Was this trial method fair and reasonable? why or why not? No, I do not think the
water method was fair because it all depends on the persons body and if they are able to
keep themselves above water.
9. Why do you think these practices were forbidden in 1215? Maybe because the rulers at
that time started to realize that they were inaccurate and were unnecessarily harmful.
New measures about how to determine if someone was guilty or not must have been put
in place.
10. What is the trial by Bier? What was the role of the Coroner during this trial? The slain
dead could indicate their killer. The way of testing this in England was to have the
accused approach the bier where the corpse lays. If the corpses wounds bled again it

meant the person in front of the body was guilty. During this the Coroner would record