Trial by Combat

[stickboy125]

An interesting medieval tidbit for us history nerds.

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Trial by combat (or judicial duel, judicial combat) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the fight was proclaimed to be right. In essence, it was a judicially sanctioned duel. It remained in use throughout the European Middle Ages, gradually disappearing in the course of the 16th century.

Being rooted in Germanic tribal law, the various regional laws of the Frankish Empire (and the later Holy Roman Empire) prescribed different particulars, such as equipment and rules of judicial combat. One of the forms of judicial duel was so-called marital duels (or conjugal duels) in which a husband and a wife physically prove their case in domestic disputes. In an effort to even the field, husbands were ordered to fight while confined to a shallow pit with one arm tied to his body.

The marital combat rules required to wear special attire – different in different places. Usually, competing husband and wife were required to wear a tight-fitting body suit with a hood (perhaps a ritual or burial outfit), as it was depicted in the 15th century fighting manual written by Hans Talhoffer. Another form of attire for a female participant was a special long chemise with an extended sack-like closed sleeve (in which a stone was placed) was required as the only clothing for a wife fighting against her husband as it as it was depicted in the 14th century fighting manual written by Paulus Kal.

So, in some regions of medieval Europe (more truly in the Holy Roman Empire), a wife might be allowed to fight her husband, with rigorous conditions being imposed to make the duel a fair one. There are a few written testimonies about such combats. In the year 1200 a man and his wife fought under the sanction of the civic authorities at Bale, in Switzerland. In 1228, a woman fought her husband in Berne, Switzerland, and soundly defeated him.

German law provided that in such a case the man should be armed with three wooden clubs. He was to put be up to his waist in a three-foot wide hole dug in the ground, with one hand tied behind his back. The woman was to be armed with three rocks, each weighing between one and five pounds, and each one wrapped in cloth in form of a small sack.

The man could not leave his hole but the woman was free to run around the edge of the pit. If the man touched the edge of the pit with either his hand or his arm, he had to surrender one of his clubs to the judges. If the woman hit him with a rock while he was doing so, she forfeited one of her stones.

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In 1467, Hans Talhoffer wrote his Fechtbuch giving illustrated instructions on how duels with a great variety of weapons should be fought. One section deals with combats between a man a woman. R. Coltman Clephan, following R.L Pearsall, reports that, while these were rare in Germany after about 1200, a number of illustrations refer to them. The set-up pictured by Talhoffer is common, but not universal. Apparently, they were most common between husband and wife (because otherwise she would have less trouble finding a champion?) Talhoffer presents his instructions without special comment, and his advice applies to both combatants. He gives two different versions of a fight, one with the man victorious, one with the woman winning.

Here is how a man and woman should fight each other, and this is how they begin.

• Here the woman stands free and wishes to strike; she has in the cloth a stone that weighs four or five pounds.
• He stands in a hole up to his waist, and his club is as long as her sling.

The setup shows that, while it was definitely not inconceivable for a woman to fight, she was presumed to be much less skilful than a man. Talhoffer does not present this fight as anything novel. This section is tucked in toward the end without comment, and this beginning is very matter-of-fact for what was probably a very rare kind of fight. Her clothing (a one-piece body suit with stirrup legs) is practical rather than flattering, and Talhoffer's following descriptions seem to be useful fighting advice: he is taking this seriously, not exoticizing it.

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In the early Medieval Era, for both parties, the penalty for defeat could be death. If the woman won, the man was executed; if the man won, the woman was buried alive. Later, the terms seemed to be softened.

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Til death do us part.

A few more images.

[deepkick]

Very interesting.

But Seems a bit overly brutal...

[maddoxde]

I saw the originals (I think) in the Torture Museum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Yes, the Germans have a museum for that. They also had other beautiful exhibits from the Medieval.
Torture always sounds so negative, they called it "embarrassing questioning" at the time. Thumb screw, pecked hare, mouth pear, Swedish drink, Spanish goat, breast ripper ... They used to enjoy life.
Yes, museum visits are good for education.

"With you I have the choice of agony
Barbed wire in the urinary canal
Put your flesh in salt and pus
First you die but then you live on
Bites, kicks, hard blows
Needle, pliers, blunt saw
Make a wish, I won't say no
And infix you rodents"

[samuelbb]

lawyers or attorneys weren't necessary, i think

[i_grapple_girls]

I've often thought about which of my exes would have defeated me in this manner and which I'd defeat. Primal!

[Zygote]

Scares me to think the term will forever be associated (at least in the U.S.) with Rudy Guiliani.

[stickboy125]

Originally Posted by deepkick [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

Very interesting.

But Seems a bit overly brutal...

Agree. Pretty barbaric stuff.
Interestingly, several folks have produced modern re-enactments.

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(Both of those are from a Blog: [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register])

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[maddoxde]

Interesting to see that some of them are more concerned with the subject. So it didn't just make an impression on me.