trial by combat
Fight determines guilt
Trial by combat is a medieval legal practice in which disputes were settled by physical combat between the parties or their champions, the outcome considered divine judgment—God supposedly granting victory to the righteous.
The concept survives mainly in historical fiction and fantasy: He demanded trial by combat, as was his right under the old laws.
- duelPrearranged one-on-one combat
- challengeTest of ability
- throw down the gauntletIssue a bold challenge
- armorProtective combat covering
- divine judgmentDeity's moral verdict
field of honor · shield · gauntlet · champion · ordeal · appellant · fight to the death · feudalism · plaintiff · sworn enemy · blood feud · defendant · legal dispute · fight · mortal · joust · death · speculative fiction
- ancient justiceordeal, Sanhedrin, Mosaic law, Twelve Tables, magistrate
- fictional customsred wedding, naming day, Festivus, initiation rite, manhood ritual
- historical justicetruth commissions, reparations, witch trials, redress, tribunals
- chivalryknighthood, knights, chivalry, medieval knights, honor
- medieval societyserfs, noble lineage, peasants, serf, heir
- duelsduel, sword duel, pistol duel, one-on-one, mano a mano
trial by combattrial by jury
Legal proceeding with citizen judges
jury trial · bench trial · trial by peers · judicial review · due process
trial by combatconstitutional law
Legal principles from founding documents
rule of law · civil procedure · criminal procedure · statutory law · trial by ordeal
trial by combatmediation
Intervention to resolve conflict
arbitration · negotiation · diplomatic resolution · peaceful settlement · compromise