Oxford University Press academic monograph reprints
1 total work
An examination of the workings of trial by ordeal from its first appearance in the barbarian law codes, tracing its use by Christian societies to its last use as a test for witchcraft in modern Europe and America. Trial by ordeal has been an important legal procedure in many periods and regions. This work discusses various recent theories about the operation and decline of the practice. The author also considers some of the general historical problems of understanding a society in which religious beliefs were so fundamental.