The former
appears to have arisen in the countries of the North, where it was known
as the _holmgang_, the combats taking place on islands. Among the
English this mode of settling differences was not much in favour either
before or after the Norman Conquest; and the statutes of William I.
contain provisions whereby the natives were permitted to substitute the
more familiar ordeal for the trial by battle.
"It was also decreed there that if a Frenchman summon an Englishman for
perjury or murder, theft, homicide, or 'ran'--as the English call
evident rape, which cannot be denied--the Englishman shall defend
himself as he prefers, either through the ordeal of iron or through
wager of battle. But if the Englishman be infirm, he shall find another
who will do it for him. If one of them shall be vanquished he shall pay
a fine of forty shillings to the King. If an Englishman summon a
Frenchman, and be unwilling to prove his charge by judgment or by wager
of battle, I will, nevertheless, that the Frenchman purge himself by an
informal oath."
In subsequent reigns wager of battle was infinitely more common, and
great encouragement was given to it by the martial race, whose ideas and
habits were imposed on the subject population. The principles were
established and the procedure regulated by the "Assises de Jerusalem"
(1099), whose ordinances were received and recognized throughout Europe
as a code of law and honour.
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