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Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) 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. ==Origins== Unlike trial by ordeal in general, which is known to many cultures worldwide, the trial by combat is known primarily from the customs of the Germanic peoples. It was in use among the ancient Burgundians, Ripuarian Franks, Alamans, Lombards, and Swedes. It was unknown in Anglo-Saxon law (despite their Germanic status) and Roman law and it does not figure into the traditions of oriental antiquity such as the code of Hammurabi or the Torah nor does it exist in Irish Brehon Law. The practice is regulated in various Germanic legal codes. 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 combat. The ''Lex Alamannorum'' (''recensio Lantfridana'' 81, dated to 712–30 AD) prescribes a trial by combat in the event of two families disputing the boundary between their lands. A handful of earth taken from the disputed piece of land is put between the contestants and they are required to touch it with their swords, each swearing that their claim is lawful. The losing party besides forfeiting their claim to the land is required to pay a fine. Capitularies governing its use appear from the year 803 onwards.〔Boretius 1.117〕 Louis the Pious prescribed combat between witnesses of each side rather than between the accuser and the accused and briefly allowed for the Ordeal of the Cross in cases involving clerics. In medieval Scandinavia, the practice survived throughout the Viking Age in the form of the Holmgang. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Trial by combat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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