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Trial by fire -

A trial by fire was used for women who were accused of adultery. In Great Britain, for example, the woman would be blindfolded and then made to walk over burning-hot metal ploughs.

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Trial by fire -

Another example would involve the woman picking up an object from the fire, such as a hot coal. If the woman was innocent, her wounds would heal in just a few days. If not, the woman would be considered adulterous and would be most likely exiled, or even killed.

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Trial by fire -

An early example can be found in Hinduism, more specifically the trial of Sita in the Ramayana, who miraculously escaped unharmed by the fire.

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Trial by fire -

Queen Emma, the mother of Edward the Confessor, is yet another famous example of an accused woman who survived the ordeal.

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Trial by lot -

This is a sort of divine version of the “drawing the short straw” method. Instead of having witnesses identifying suspects from a lineup, priests would do this using several metal rods with the names of the accused and one with a cross.

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Trial by lot -

They would then pull one of the rods randomly. If they pulled out the one with a cross first, it meant everyone was innocent. If not, everyone whose name came up prior to the last rod was considered innocent. But if your name was on the last rod, you were out of luck.

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Ordeal by bitter water -

Sotah is a Jewish practice found in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) used to establish whether or not a wife was unfaithful to her husband.

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Ordeal by bitter water -

The accused woman would have her hair exposed (which was a big deal for Jewish women) and be made to drink water mixed with powdered oat barley to swear her innocence. The rabbi would pray to God to curse the wheat if she was guilty. If the woman became infertile after the ritual, then it'd be confirmed that she cheated on her husband.

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Ordeal by diving -

According to a 19th-century book published by The East India Company, this practice was common in Thailand, Myanmar, India, Cambodia, and Laos. Accused people would prove their innocence by holding their breath under water in a pond or river. It would be down to the water gods to help them hold on to the stakes at the bottom and hold their breath for long enough to be proven not guilty.

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Trial by combat -

This was a popular one in medieval Europe. But if a duel sounds like a fair way to resolve a dispute, killers would probably have an advantage in such a scenario, right? This led to some people making accusations to end this type of trial, which became illegal in Great Britain in 1819.

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Cold water witch trials -

A popular way to find out if a woman was a witch was to tie her up and throw her into a river. If she floated, she was a witch. If not, she’d be considered innocent. A device called “the ducking stool” was often used to perform this trial by ordeal in the New World.

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Trial by touch -

The soul can be found in the blood, according to Jewish tradition, and this concept is pretty much the basis of this ordeal. Though the idea of an ordeal of blood didn’t come to fruition until the reign of Richard the Lionheart of England during the 1100s.

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Trial by touch -

This ordeal was applicable to those accused of murder. The accused would be brought close to the victim’s body and had to touch it. If the corpse bled, then the person was guilty.

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Trial by hot water -

This ordeal, implemented by Pope Gregory the Great, started with the accused (this would be applicable to men) undergoing a purification ritual. This consisted of fasting on a diet of water, salt, and herbs for three days. The man would also had to abstain from sex during that period.

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Trial by hot water -

Then the accused would put his forearm into a cauldron of boiling water and retrieve a stone from its bottom. His arm would then be wrapped, and three days later his wound would be inspected. If there was no sign of damage to the skin, then the person would be considered innocent.

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Trial by ordeal bean -

The Calabar bean is extremely poisonous, and as such it was used as a way to prove one’s innocence in Old Calabar (modern-day Nigeria). Vomiting the beans would be proof of innocence, as the accused would not suffer any harmful effects.

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Trial by ordeal bean -

The bean contains physostigmine, which affects the nervous system and can lead to seizures and asphyxiation. In the old days, this would be considered to be demonic possession.

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Trial by ordeal bean -

Swallowing the bean whole was a safer bet, as the skin would allow toxins not to spread, and if lucky, go through the digestive system not causing any harm, leading to an innocent verdict.

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Trial by host -

In medieval times, a priest would have the opportunity to perform this trial. If the accused choked during the Eucharist (when the person consumes a wafer as a symbol of the body of Christ), then he/she would be considered guilty.

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The sassywood ordeal -

This trial was traditionally performed in Liberia to ascertain the innocence of a man accused of murder. The accused would consume a drink made with sassywood tree bark, and then a machete (which had been heated over fire) was pressed against the person’s leg until they confessed. Alternatively, hot oil would be used.

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The sassywood ordeal -

The sassywood drink is poisonous, and it was actually not made illegal in the country until 2009. Many women were accused of witchcraft and forced to drink it. Most of those who didn’t vomit (and therefore were deemed innocent) died. Despite being illegal, this ritual is still practiced across the country.

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Trial by hot iron -

This medieval trial of ordeal consisted of carrying a measure of iron weighing one pound (0.45 kg) and heated over fire for nine feet (according to the accused's own foot size). Those who got burned were considered guilty. This, however, was many times used as a test, as a guilty person knew that God wouldn’t help them, so they would confess beforehand.

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Trial by tagena -

This ritual, originally from Madagascar, consists of consuming the nut of the tagena tree, which makes the heart fibrillate, and sometimes stop completely.

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Trial by tagena -

It was used for over 500 years on alleged witchcraft practitioners. And although it was made illegal in 1861 by King Radama II, it’s still used in remote areas of the country today.

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Trial by snake -

This trial by ordeal involves the accused retrieving a ring from a pot. Sounds easy, right? Except there is a cobra in the pot! Innocent people are, of course, not bitten by the snake. These trials were mainly used for those accused of lying or making false accusations.

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Sotah ritual -

This trial by ordeal is actually mentioned in the Bible (Numbers 5:11-31). It was used to determine if a woman had been unfaithful to her husband. The woman would be forced to drink water mixed with dirt from the temple floor. If her “abdomen swelled” and her “womb miscarried,” then she would be considered adulterous.

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Ordeal by turf -

This ancient Icelandic ordeal would have a person walking under a piece of turf. If it collapsed on the accused, he/she would be considered guilty.

Sources: (History Collection) (Mental Floss) (Listverse) ('Ordeals' by Peter T. Leeson)

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