They were called ordeals (or judgments of God ) to the tests that, especially in the Middle Ages, the accused had to overcome to prove their innocence. And it was better that Fate, Divine Providence or the Goddess Fortune were on your side, because otherwise it would be very difficult to pass the tests.
There were several "modalities", such as the duel, the test of the hot iron, the bread and cheese or the water test :
- Duel or challenge .- Each party chose a champion who, with force, had to make their good rights triumph (in the Germanic peoples this combat was consented if the dispute related to land or money).
- The hot iron test .- The defendant had to hold a red-hot iron with his hands for a certain time, if his hands had signs of burns he was guilty. Another variety of this ordeal was to pick up a heavy object that was at the bottom of a pot of boiling water (or oil) and still show no trace of burns.
- Bread and cheese .- the accused had to eat a certain amount of bread and cheese, if he was guilty God would send an angel to squeeze his throat so that he could not swallow.
- Water test .- The defendant was tied so that he could not move his arms or legs and then he was thrown into the river (or the sea), it was considered that if he floated he was guilty and if he sank he was innocent. It was thought that the water was always ready to welcome the innocent into its bosom while rejecting the guilty. This ordeal it had a small inconvenience, since the innocent could drown; so it had to be polished.
