Trial by Combat
Trial by Combat
Trial by Combat, method of adjudicating legal disputes by personal combat between the litigants or their appointed champions. The practice apparently originated among primitive German tribes about the 1st century ad and spread to many countries of Europe, notably to France, where trial by combat was a recognized legal procedure after the 10th century. The last judicial duel in France was fought in 1547.
Trial by combat was one of the French customs imported to England in the 11th century by King William I of England. From 1133 to 1189, under King Henry II, no other legal means was recognized for the settlement of a suit involving recovery of land. By the end of the 16th century the custom was virtually obsolete. (1)
Leave a Reply