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 every man or every man's family to be the avenger of his wrongs.
92. The Common Law.
The laws by which these cases were tried were almost always ancient customs, few of which had been reduced to writing. They formed that body of Common Law[3] which is the foundation of the modern system of justice both in England and America.
[3] So called, in distinction from the statute laws made by Parliament.
93. Penalties.