A form of trial which especially appealed to the warlike
nobles was the judicial duel. [6] The accuser and the accused fought with each
other; and the conqueror won the case. God, it was believed, would give victory
to the innocent party, because he had right on his side. When one of the
adversaries could not fight, he secured a champion to take his place. Though
the judicial duel finally went out of use in the law courts, it still continued
to be employed privately, as a means of settling disputes which involved a
man's honor. The practice of dueling is only now dying out in civilized
communities.
[6] Sir Walter Scott's novel, Ivanhoe (chapter
xliii), contains an account of a judicial duel.
FEUDAL AND ROMAN LAW
Oaths, ordeals, and duels formed an inheritance from
Germanic antiquity. They offered a sharp contrast to Roman law, which acted
in the public interest, balanced evidence, and sought only to get at the truth.
After the middle of the twelfth century the revival of the study of Roman law,
as embodied in Justinian's code, led gradually to the abandonment of most
forms of appeal to the judgment of God. At the same time the kings grew
powerful enough to take into their own hands the administration of justice.
