The ordalie (of old English ordal and Germanic the urthel , “judgment”, which survived respectively in current the ordeal and Urteil ) is a mode of Justice, also called judgment of God. It is a mode of very old religious judgment.
Definition
Concretely, the ordalie consists in making pass to marked from the various physical tests with an aim of showing the accuracy of its cause. This under the glance of the guardian divinity of the justice, which by definition cannot let perish the innocent one or triumph the injustice. The ordalie includes the legal duel, where the test implies the two parts. The judgment is go-all, generally implying the disappearance of one of the parts (the defendant or the indicter).Consisting of a direct call with the divinity instituting and keeping the supreme order, it is probably about the most primitive mode of justice of origin, oldest and: it is what makes its legitimacy compared to the formalized processes and much less violent ones appeared later on (undoubtedly in reaction to the extême violence of the ordalie). But when justice human applies not (fault of evidence and testimonys, because the litigation has a magic nature , or in the presence of an international conflict for which there does not exist legal recourse), the ordalie returns.
The process is attested as of the first historical times (in the Code of Hammourabi, but without the legal duel), and present in the prehistoric myths. It is also attested with the European Moyen-âge.
The ordalie is related with the other ritual ones consisting of a taking risk arbitrated by the Destin: Exposure of newborns, singular combat opposing Champion S to decide on a battle, etc
There are two kind of ordalie. The unilateral ordalie and the bilateral ordalie.
In the unilateral ordalie, it is with the defendant to prove his innocence by the means of a test under the glance of the divinity. With the Middle Ages there were various tests for " to prove " the innocence or culpability of an defendant.
- the test by red iron consisted in forcing the defendant to hold the bar with red iron then one bandaged the hand. To know if the defendant were guilty or innocent a few days later the evolution of the wound was looked at. If the wound were " beautiful " thus healed well that proved its innocence, in the contrary case an unpleasant wound proved its culpability.
- the test of the ebullient cauldron, alternative of that of the test of red iron. It is acted in fact of boiling of water in a cauldron and of plunging a stone there. The defendant was to plunge her arm in the cauldron and to bring back stone. There too one bandages the arm flaring and one checks the state of the wound later a few days.
- the test of ice-cold water. The defendant was plunged in an ice-cold water bénite, if it ran at the bottom it is that it was " receipt " by water bénite and thus was innocent (sometimes it drowned fault of having been able to go back to surface), if the body floated that proved its culpability.
The bilateral ordalie was regulated by a duel (combat). The choice of the weapons was according to the row and of the social class of the individual. The noble ones only could fight with the sword and the lance.
European history
In Europe, this mode of judgment is formalized at the time franque in the legal form of duel and was used until the medium of the Moyen-âge (1258 in France). At that time justice was held by each Seigneur on his territory, which generally delegated to a provost accompanied by a feudal court (feudal court called malus). There was like today several degrees of jurisdiction, more precisely two: the 1st degree was the feudal court and the Court of Appeal was the court of the Suzerain (higher lord).The ordalie is very marked religious and magic, but in a direction pre-Christian, and associated with an extreme violence; moreover, from a theological point of view the ordalie represents a test of divine kindness, which the Bible condemns without call. It is what explains why the Church was clearly unfavourable with these ordalies, preferring the oath by far. The Concile of Valence thus condemns the legal duel as of 855.
The legal duel appears as of the Life century at the Burgondes, then at the Francs. There remains relatively rare before the year millet. This legal duel was practiced in the presence of the king or of the territorial authority concerned. Champions, specialists in the combat, represented the camp plaintiffs.
The legal duel is not the only method of ordalie. One witnesses even a multiplication of the tests as from the 10th century: red iron with ice-cold water. These various tests are prohibited in France as of the 11th century under the influence of the institutions of peaces installation under the influence of the Church. Only the legal duel still remains some time until its prohibition in France by Saint Louis in 1258. Before this date, the Concile of Lateran (1215) had recalled the judgment of the Church with respect to this practice. Saint-Louis replaces the recourse to the ordalie by the oath and oral testimony. It is the base of modern justice. One will note however the behavior of some legal duels late in France until the reign of Philippe Beautiful the.
Attention not to confuse the ordalie with the Enquiry.
Modern representations
Many novels and cloak and dagger films gave popular the judgment of God in the form of duel, which always leads to the victory of the good (right and right) over the evil (cheating and coward).
In their film Crowned Graal! , the Monty Python describe, with a pickling humor, magic logic which hides behind the concept of ordalie: an obscure reasoning in cascade leads to condemn a woman as Sorcière because it weighs the same weight as a duck!
Another direction
See also: Ordalie (behavior)
One also applies the term to certain voluntary behaviors of taking risk, in particular the duel of honor appeared at the 15th century or the behavior of many teenagers (uses of narcotics, taking risk road, etc); however, the fact that the taking risk is voluntary, out of any legal framework (and even in rupture with the legal framework), and deprived of goal, strictly speaking makes an essential difference with the ordalie .
See too
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