each shire, hundred, and town had its court, which all freemen might
attend. There, without any special judge, jury, or lawyers, cases of
all kinds were tried and settled by the voice of the entire body, who
were both judge and jury in themselves.

90. Methods of Procedure; Compurgation.

In these courts there were two methods of procedure; first, the
accused might clear himself of the charge brought against him by
compurgations[1]; that is, by swearing that he was not guilty and
getting a number of reputable neighbors to swear that they believed
his oath.

If their oaths were not satisfactory, witnesses might be brought to
swear to some particular fact. In ever case the value of the oath was
graduated according to the rank of the person, that of a man of high
rank being worth as much as that of twelve common men.

91. The Ordeal.

Secondly, if the accused could not clear himself in this way, he was
obliged to submit to the ordeal.[2] This usually consisted in
carrying a piece of hot iron a certain distance, or in plunging the
arm up to the elbow in boiling water.

[2] Ordeal: a severe test or judgment

The person who underwent the ordeal appealed to God to prove his
innocence by protecting him from harm. Rude as both these methods
were, they were better than the old tribal method, which permitted