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The
Middle Ages for Kids
Trial by Ordeal, Trial
by Jury
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Under the Frankish Empire, the court system was famous for its time. For one one thing, a consistent court system existed. When Charlemagne came to power as king of the Frankish Empire, he agreed that the court system was consistent, but he believed it was consistently unfair. In the Frankish court system, trial was by ordeal. If you were a peasant and you were accused of a crime, to prove your innocence, you had to hold a red hot metal poker until your hand was deeply burned. If your burnt hand healed in three days, which it was unlikely to do, you were found innocent. If it did not, you were guilty. If you were a noble, you could prove your innocence in ordeal by fight. You could hire someone to fight for you. If the person you hired lived, you were found innocent. If the person you hired died, you were found guilty, but you had paid your punishment - you had paid with "your" life, so to speak, or at least the life of the person you had hired - thus, you were free to go. Charlemagne did not think much of this system of justice. He started a new system - trial by panel. Under Charlemagne's system, each accused person would be heard by a panel of honorable men, men who had taken an oath to listen and to judge fairly based on the evidence presented. There was still corruption, but this system had a much better chance of being fair than did the old one. Our modern jury system, trial by jury, slowly
developed from this early start. Explore Learn more about the great king, Charlemagne Free Presentations in PowerPoint format Free Online Games for the Middle Ages Free Middle Ages Clipart for Kids & Teachers Return to The Middle Ages for Kids
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