[LL.
ordalium.]
Of or pertaining to trial by ordeal.[Obs.]
Bp. Hall.Or"de*al (ôr"d&esl;*al),
n. [AS. ordāl, ord&aemacr;l, a
judgment; akin to D. oordeel, G. urteil,
urtheil; orig., what is dealt out, the prefix or- being
akin to ā- compounded with verbs, G. er-, ur-
, Goth. us-, orig. meaning, out. See Deal,
v. & n., and cf. Arise,
Ort.] 1. An ancient form of test to
determine guilt or innocence, by appealing to a supernatural
decision, -- once common in Europe, and still practiced in the East
and by savage tribes.
&fist; In England ordeal by fire and ordeal by water
were used, the former confined to persons of rank, the latter to the
common people. The ordeal by fire was performed, either by handling
red-hot iron, or by walking barefoot and blindfold over red-hot
plowshares, laid at unequal distances. If the person escaped unhurt,
he was adjudged innocent; otherwise he was condemned as guilty. The
ordeal by water was performed, either by plunging the bare arm to the
elbow in boiling water, an escape from injury being taken as proof of
innocence, or by casting the accused person, bound hand and foot,
into a river or pond, when if he floated it was an evidence of guilt,
but if he sunk he was acquitted.
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