13. Trial By Combat Was Part of Germanic Law
Trial by ordeal, in which the accused was put through painful or dangerous experience to prove their innocence, was widely practiced throughout the world. Germanic nations had a different idea: trial by combat, in which both the accused and accuser had to fight to prove their honesty. Numerous Germanic tribes including the Alamans, Burgundians, Lombards, Ripuarian Franks, and Swedes all had some form of trial by combat codified into their legal system. Procedures and rules for trial by conflict appear in numerous Germanic legal documents, including the Lex Alamannorum.
In the Lex Alamannorum, which was written in the 8th century, a procedure is described for trial by combat to settle a dispute over land boundaries. If two families were fighting over a land claim, soil from the disputed territory was placed in the center of the ring, and the victor had to touch the dirt with his sword. Whoever failed to reach the soil with his sword would be forced to release their claim on the land and pay a fine. Later capitularies, Frankish legislative acts, increased the scope of trial by combat and allowed for options such as letting witnesses fight instead of the accuser and accused.