Mediæval London, Volume 2: Ecclesiastical

by Walter Besant

The second method, long practised in the case of witches, was the ordeal of cold water. The accused was stripped, his hands were tied crosswise to his feet; he was sprinkled with holy water; he was permitted to kiss the cross; a rope was tied around his waist, and at the distance of two ells from his body a knot was tied; he was then thrown into deep water; if he sank as deep as the knot he was innocent; if not, he was guilty. The administration of the ordeal was not conducted in the bare and simple method indicated above: it was placed in the hands of priests; mass was said before it; there were appropriate psalms and prayers; the accused confessed his sins to the priest; before the whole congregation he called upon God to prove his innocence; he swore upon the holy relics of the church that he was innocent. The function was one of great solemnity, and calculated to impress the minds of the people most deeply.

The ordeal by hot water was, it will be seen, as a mere ceremony, most remarkable. One case will stand for many.

Four men, all belonging to the Ward of Chepe, were accused of robbery and murder; the dead body of the murdered man had been found lying near the Standard in Chepe stripped, and showing gaping wounds; the four men were known to be “roreres,” that is, night wanderers and brawlers; the evidence against them, chiefly circumstantial, warranted their arrest; they claimed to prove their innocence by the ordeal of boiling water.

On the appointed day they were brought out from Newgate and conducted to St. Sepulchre’s Church, where they first confessed and then attended mass, being placed in the body of the church before the altar screen. After mass a short special service was sung for them; they then, one after the other, swore upon the relics that they were innocent; they demanded, singly and one after the other, the proof by ordeal; they solemnly implored the Lord to make manifest their innocence if they were innocent, or to prove their guilt if they were guilty. This done, a procession was formed. The whifflers marched first, followed by the clergy and the singing boys. Then came the prisoners guarded by the sergeant.

They were led out to Smithfield followed by a great crowd; the ordeal was not a function that could be witnessed every day; the Londoners have always turned out in force to witness an execution, or a flogging, or pillory, or any act of justice. On Smithfield, at the east of the Elms, that is, nearly in front of Bartholomew’s Hospital, a fire of wood was burning in an open grate; upon this stood a caldron full of water; the smoke of the fire rolled up round the caldron and was blown hither and thither; with it ascended, or was blown about, the steam of the boiling water; the flames crackled and licked the black sides of the caldron, the water bubbled and overflowed and hissed. Behind the caldron was a gibbet, with ropes for four. It was afterwards observed that of the four men one preserved a cheerful and confident air, the other three were haggard and wan; their limbs dragged as they went.

Arrived at the spot the Sheriff, who was present with the Alderman of Chepe, informed the prisoners—which they knew already—that at the bottom of the caldron lay a round white stone; they would each have to dip an arm into the boiling water and bring out that stone without scalding themselves.

The first to essay the adventure was the prisoner of the cheerful and the confident countenance; the guards took off his doublet; they rolled a thin piece of linen round his arm and sealed it with lead. They then bade him advance. He stepped forward; he stood beside the caldron, his arm raised; the Priest and singing men began a Psalm.

The smoke and the steam blew this way and that way; the man could not be seen sometimes for the fumes; when the wind blew aside, the people saw him still, hand upraised, watching the boiling water. Suddenly the smoke and the steam were blown aside; he plunged his arm; the smoke was blown back again; but he stood before the officers, the white stone in his hand.

The crowd shouted. The Lord had proved his innocence.

He was set aside; he would be taken back to Newgate; three days afterwards, the covering would be taken from his arm, and if there were no signs of scalding he would be set free.