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Trial by Ordeal


A typical Viking helmut. Click on the image to see some more example of Viking weapons.

In Viking England, all of the old laws were taken and organised together into a new book for the Saxons.

To tell if you were guilty of a crime or not there were things called ordeals, if you passed, then you were innocent and if you failed then you were punished.

There were many different ordeals and here are a few.

1 Ordeal by cake: A special cake is baked, you must eat the cake. If you choke on the cake then you are guilty and if you don't, then you may live.

2. Ordeal by cold water: Your hands and feet are tied together, a rope is placed around your waist and it is then attached to pulley which plunges you into the water. If you float then you are guilty, and if you sink then you are innocent and there will be no punishment.

3. Ordeal by hot water: You must put your hand into a boiling pot of water to retrieve a pebble a the bottom of it. Your arm will be bandaged up for three days and after the time has finished then you will have to have it unwrapped, if the burn has healed then you are innocent and if there are still blisters then you are guilty.

4. Ordeal by hot metal: You have to hold a hot iron rod that has been placed in a fire for a while, with the metal still in your clasp, you must walk a set distance. Your hand is bandaged up and then unwrapped after three days, if your hands are all infected then you are guilty, and if not then you will not be punished.
Typical Viking combat with sword and shield. Click on the image to see more example of Viking weapons.

Here are some penalties that you would have to pay:

  1. If you were a witch then the penalty is... Death.
  2. If you were plotting against your lord then the penalty was.. Death.
  3. The penalty for stealing a hive of bees was... A fine.
  4. The penalty for accidentally killing a man by letting the tree that you were cutting fall on him was... Giving the tree to the family of the dead person.
  5. The penalty for your dog killing another man was... Six shillings the first time, twelve for the second and thirty shillings for the third killing that it made.
  6. You had your tongue cut off if you told nasty lies about someone.
  7. The fine for beating a freeman, blinding him or cutting his hair was...
  8. Twenty shillings for beating him, six shillings for blinding him and ten shillings for cutting his hair.
  9. The fine for accidentally stabbing someone with your spear depended on. the angle it went in on. (The judge thought that the angle that the spear went in would show how deliberate the stabbing was.
  10. The penalty for murder was... Paying a fine to the relatives of the dead person.
  11. The fine for offences against a woman varied, it depended on how important the woman was. The offence against a nun was... Double.

Pages Created: Wednesday, 10-September-97
Material copyright © 1997-2000 M. Hos-McGrane, Grade 6 Class
Web pages by L.C. Swanson.
Graphics by L. Swanson based on an images
© arttoday.com 2000 (used with permission)