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Superstition and Force Essays on the Wager of Law, the Wager of Battle, the Ordeal, Torture

Henry Charles Lea · Public domain text

228,387 words · about 16 h to read

Period artwork: Interior of the Bodleian Library, 1845

Text only · 1 illustration omitted. Illustrated source.

About this edition

The text of Superstition and Force Essays on the Wager of Law, the Wager of Battle, the Ordeal, Torture comes from Project Gutenberg e-text #58750. It is in English and public domain in the United States. Project Gutenberg’s header and license text are removed, and RedLectern sets the text out for reading on screen; no words of the book are rewritten or summarized. More formats (EPUB, Kindle) · How RedLectern is built

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About this book

Author
Henry Charles Lea (1825–1909)
Language
English
Subjects
Torture, Wager of law, Wager of battle, Ordeal
Length
228,387 words · about 16 h
Sections
90 reader sections · Table of contents
Contents (90)
  1. Opening under 1 min
  2. Preface about 2 min
  3. I. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE KINDRED under 1 min
  4. II. THE OATH AND ITS ACCESSORIES under 1 min
  5. III. CONJURATORS, OR PARTAKERS IN THE OATH under 1 min
  6. IV. SELECTION OF COMPURGATORS under 1 min
  7. V. CONDITIONS OF COMPURGATION under 1 min
  8. VI. FORMULAS AND PROCEDURE under 1 min
  9. VII. DECLINE OF COMPURGATION under 1 min
  10. VIII. ACCUSATORIAL CONJURATORS under 1 min
  11. Chapter I under 1 min
  12. II. ORIGIN OF THE JUDICIAL COMBAT under 1 min
  13. III. UNIVERSAL USE OF THE JUDICIAL COMBAT under 1 min
  14. IV. CONFIDENCE REPOSED IN THE JUDICIAL DUEL under 1 min
  15. V. LIMITATIONS IMPOSED ON THE WAGER OF BATTLE under 1 min
  16. VI. REGULATIONS OF THE JUDICIAL COMBAT under 1 min
  17. VII. CHAMPIONS under 1 min
  18. VIII. DECLINE OF THE JUDICIAL COMBAT under 1 min
  19. I. UNIVERSAL INVOCATION OF THE JUDGMENT OF GOD under 1 min
  20. II. ORDEAL OF BOILING WATER under 1 min
  21. III. ORDEAL OF RED-HOT IRON under 1 min
  22. IV. ORDEAL OF FIRE under 1 min
  23. V. ORDEAL OF COLD WATER under 1 min
  24. VI. ORDEAL OF THE BALANCE under 1 min
  25. VII. ORDEAL OF THE CROSS under 1 min
  26. VIII. THE CORSNÆD under 1 min
  27. IX. THE EUCHARIST AS AN ORDEAL under 1 min
  28. X. ORDEAL OF THE LOT under 1 min
  29. XI. BIER-RIGHT under 1 min
  30. XII. OATHS AS ORDEALS under 1 min
  31. XIII. POISON ORDEALS under 1 min
  32. XIV. IRREGULAR ORDEALS under 1 min
  33. XV. CONDITIONS OF THE ORDEAL under 1 min
  34. XVI. CONFIDENCE REPOSED IN THE ORDEAL under 1 min
  35. XVII. THE CHURCH AND THE ORDEAL under 1 min
  36. XVIII. REPRESSIVE SECULAR LEGISLATION under 1 min
  37. I. TORTURE IN EGYPT AND ASIA under 1 min
  38. II. GREECE AND ROME under 1 min
  39. III. THE BARBARIANS under 1 min
  40. Chapter IV under 1 min
  41. V. CARLOVINGIAN AND FEUDAL LAW under 1 min
  42. VI. REAPPEARANCE OF TORTURE under 1 min
  43. VII. THE INQUISITORIAL PROCESS under 1 min
  44. VIII. FINAL SHAPE OF THE TORTURE SYSTEM under 1 min
  45. IX. ENGLAND AND THE NORTHERN RACES under 1 min
  46. X. DECLINE OF THE TORTURE SYSTEM under 1 min
  47. I. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE KINDRED about 9 min
  48. II. THE OATH AND ITS ACCESSORIES about 12 min
  49. III. CONJURATORS, OR PARTAKERS IN THE OATH about 5 min
  50. IV. SELECTION OF COMPURGATORS about 14 min
  51. V. CONDITIONS OF COMPURGATION about 6 min
  52. VI. FORMULAS AND PROCEDURE about 11 min
  53. VII. DECLINE OF COMPURGATION about 29 min
  54. VIII. ACCUSATORIAL CONJURATORS about 7 min
  55. Chapter I about 8 min
  56. II. ORIGIN OF THE JUDICIAL DUEL about 12 min
  57. III. UNIVERSAL USE OF THE JUDICIAL COMBAT about 10 min
  58. IV. CONFIDENCE REPOSED IN THE JUDICIAL DUEL about 15 min
  59. V. LIMITATIONS ON THE WAGER OF BATTLE about 28 min
  60. VI. REGULATIONS OF THE JUDICIAL COMBAT about 15 min
  61. VII. CHAMPIONS about 21 min
  62. VIII. DECLINE OF THE JUDICIAL COMBAT about 58 min
  63. I. UNIVERSAL INVOCATION OF THE JUDGMENT OF GOD about 38 min
  64. II. THE ORDEAL OF BOILING WATER about 12 min
  65. III. THE ORDEAL OF RED-HOT IRON about 19 min
  66. IV. THE ORDEAL OF FIRE about 19 min
  67. V. THE ORDEAL OF COLD WATER about 20 min
  68. VI. THE ORDEAL OF THE BALANCE about 2 min
  69. VII. THE ORDEAL OF THE CROSS about 3 min
  70. VIII. THE CORSNÆD about 6 min
  71. IX. THE EUCHARIST AS AN ORDEAL about 10 min
  72. X. THE ORDEAL OF THE LOT about 8 min
  73. XI. BIER-RIGHT about 14 min
  74. XII. OATHS AS ORDEALS about 5 min
  75. XIII. POISON ORDEALS about 2 min
  76. XIV. IRREGULAR ORDEALS about 7 min
  77. XV. CONDITIONS OF THE ORDEAL about 17 min
  78. XVI. CONFIDENCE REPOSED IN THE ORDEAL about 12 min
  79. XVII. THE CHURCH AND THE ORDEAL about 15 min
  80. XVIII. REPRESSIVE SECULAR LEGISLATION about 8 min
  81. I. TORTURE IN EGYPT AND ASIA about 4 min
  82. II. GREECE AND ROME about 21 min
  83. III. THE BARBARIANS about 8 min
  84. IV. THE GOTHS AND SPAIN about 17 min
  85. V. CARLOVINGIAN AND FEUDAL LAW about 11 min
  86. VI. REAPPEARANCE OF TORTURE about 39 min
  87. VII. THE INQUISITORIAL PROCESS about 14 min
  88. VIII. FINAL SHAPE OF THE TORTURE SYSTEM about 40 min
  89. IX. ENGLAND AND THE NORTHERN RACES about 15 min
  90. X. DECLINE OF THE TORTURE SYSTEM about 5 h 6 min

The opening of Preface

The history of jurisprudence is the history of civilization. The labors of the lawgiver embody not only the manners and customs of his time, but also its innermost thoughts and beliefs, laid bare for our examination with a frankness that admits of no concealment. These afford the surest outlines for a trustworthy picture of the past, of which the details are supplied by the records of the chronicler.

It is from these sources that I have attempted, in the present work, a brief investigation into the group of laws and customs through which our forefathers sought to discover hidden truth when disputed between man and man. Not only do these throw light upon the progress of human development from primitive savagism to civilized enlightenment, but they bring into view some of the strangest mysteries of the human mind.

Read on in Part 1 →