Trial by battle was used not only in military and criminal cases, but also in one kind of civil action, namely, in writs of right, which were not to determine the jus possessionis, but the less obvious and more profound question of the jus proprietatis. In the simplicity of ancient times, it was thought not unreasonable that a matter of such difficulty should be left to the decision of Providence by the wager of battle. In this case the battle was waged by champions, because, in civil actions, if any party to the suit dies, the suit must abate, or end, and therefore no judgment could be given.
The last trial by battle that was waged in the court of Common Pleas at Westminster was in the thirteenth year of Queen Elizabeth, A. D. 1571, as reported by Sir James Dyer; and was held in Tothill Fields “non sine magnâ juris consultorum perturbatione.” There was afterwards one in the court of Chivalry in 1631, and another in the county palatine of Durham in 1628.
The Wager of Battle was accounted obsolete, until it was unexpectedly demanded and admitted in 1817, in a case of supposed murder; and it has since been abolished by act of parliament, 59 George III. c. 46.
BAY. (More anciently Severy.) One whole compartment of a building. As the whole structure consists of a repetition of bays, the description of one bay comprises most of the terms used in architectural nomenclature. The accompanying block figures are purposely composed of discordant parts, to comprise the greater number of terms.
EXTERIOR.
A. Aisle.
I. Basement. II. Parapet.
a. Corbel table. b. Cornice. c. Gurgoyle.
d. Pedimental set-off. e. Plain set-off. f. Finial. g. Flying buttress, or arch-buttress.