Interesting quote relating the medieval judicial duel to the pagan holmgang: Traces of the old Germanic custom, by which every offense was personal, and murderers paid money ransoms to the relatives of their victims, survive in the mid thirteenth century. ibid Together with this view of crime as a civil offense, the early middle ages also preserved the barbarian customs of duel and ordeal. By 1250 judicial duel is still officially forbidden nearly everywhere but is still widely practiced. Even peasants often settle their disputes with cudgels. p205 Life in a Medieval City, J & G Gies, 1969.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 18:37:48 +0000
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