1. Ordeal by fire - walking over hot ploughshares for a distance of 9 feet. Innocence determined by either total lack of injury, or if the injury was only festering after three days.
2. Ordeal by boiling water - suspect had to dip his hand into a pot of boiling water to retrieve a stone. Innocence determined by whether or not the burns had healed in three days.3. Ordeal by cold water - suspect was submerged in a stream either in a barrel or with a millstone around his neck. Innocence determined by whether or not he survived!
4. Ordeal by cold water (witches only) - suspect is submerged as above, but sinks if guilty, floats if innocent.
5. Ordeal by cross - accuser AND accused stand either side of a cross with their arms out horizontally. The first one to lower his arms is the loser.
6. Ordeal by ingestion - bread and cheese blessed by a priest were administered. Guilty if the suspect choked.
7. Ordeal by poison (Nigeria) - fed a poisonous bean. If defendant vomited it up, they were innocent.
8. Ordeal by boiling oil (India) - as #2, but both accuser AND accused had to dip their hands in boiling oil. Whoever had uninjured hands afterwards was innocent.
9. Ordeal by turf (Iceland) - suspect had to walk underneath a piece of turf. If the turf fell on his head, he was guilty.
I think the only ordeal I would want to have to endure is the ordeal by ingestion. Of course, with my luck, I'd probably choke. :)
ReplyDeleteTaMara
Tales of a Pee Dee Mama
I think your ordeal by water for witches is the wrong way round. If you drowned you were innocent and if you floated you were guilty - and then burnt at the stake! A lose, lose situation.
ReplyDeleteWell spotted, Chris! :o)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if anybody was declared innocent.
ReplyDelete