What is meant by trial by ordeal

Their possessions were then seized and their family members were sold into slavery. Even the experienced wedding planner found it quite an ordeal to plan and execute a ceremony in twenty-four hours. The hostage endured a horrible ordeal under the hands of his abusive kidnappers. Main page Questions categories Philosophy and history Common philosophy Philosophy in education Philosophy and sociology Philosophy edu Students info Common articles Best philosophy topics Table of contents:.

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Are philosophy majors worth it? Why do we need rationing devices and competition as it relates to scarcity? There were two main forms of ordeal — fire and water — with God being seen as determining guilt through the result. Trial by Ordeal meant that if you were a peasant and were accused of a crime, to prove your innocence you had to grab a red hot metal rod and hold it.

If your burns healed within three days you were innocent, if not you were guilty. From this system of trial by panel we got our own system of trial by jury. These trials were based on putting people through some really painful ordeals- unless, of course, they were rich or powerful enough to get a slap on the wrist, or pay someone else to deal with it for them. The origin of the phrase was once meant to be taken literally. In Great Britain, a trial by fire was usually used for women who were accused by their husband of committing adultery.

She was blindfolded and forced to walk over roughly 10 metal ploughs were heated in a fire until they were red-hot, and laid out on the ground into a pathway.

If she was scarred for life, she was guilty.