Study On The Trial By Ordeal In Medieval Europe

Judicium Dei, or trial by ordeal, is a widespread legal procedure in medieval European. As a custom originated from the ancient German peoples, and formalized by the Christian Church, the ordeal is often regarded as an "irrational" and "primitive" procedure by Western scholars. This preconception prevents us from reviewing the ordeal in its special historical circumstance. This thesis has tried to make a historical investigation about how the ordeal arised, developed and declined in medieval Europe.Firstly, although the ordeal is an ancient proof of German peoples, it burst into history only after the Franks were Christianised. The thesis described when and how the main types of ordeal emerged in its early history. It introduced the circumstances in which the ordeal was used. The ordeal was one of medieval proofs, it was the last resort when other proofs couldn't be made.Secondly, the thesis agued that the development of the ordeal was connected with the political situation in medieval Europe. The ordeal was a proper judicial tool which was used by the kings, the lords and the bishops to maintain their control of their areas. The ordeal didn't decline in the era from 1050 to 1200 because it was fit for the new political and religious situation.Thirdly, the thesis made a comprehensive investigation about the abolition of the ordeal. It argued that, as the rise of the study of the canon law and the development of the theology and philosophy, the doubt and criticism on ordeal became more and more vehement, and that endangered the authority of the Church. From the second half of the 11th century to the 12th century, the Church was becoming an independent political and judicial system separated from the secular power. As a result, the Fourth Lateran Council decided to abolish the procedure.Finally, it introduced how the decree of the Church was enforced in Europe. The abolition of the ordeal left space for some new legal procedures such as compurgation, jury and torture to develop in Europe. And it also gave a simple introduction about the ordeal in the early modern Europe.The thesis argued that we should not regard the medieval ordeal as a "primitive" or an "irrational" procedure which belonged to the "Dark Ages". The ordeal had been an official procedure since the Carolinian kings enforced it as a legal proof. It was a useful and necessary political and judicial tool for the extension of the Christian kingdom. The declination of the ordeal was not only the result of the development of the theology, Canon law and the revival of Roman law, but also the result of the separation between the Church and the secular power.