2. Trial by ordeal was simply torture by another name
A typical trial by ordeal could include trial by fire. One type of trial by fire had the suspected miscreant walk over heated iron bars called ploughshares, barefooted. Afterward, several days later, the burns were examined by a priest. Should they be showing little indication of healing, which given the state of medicine at the time was usually the case, it was judged as evidence pointing to guilt. Many ancient legends and myths are tales of heroes establishing their innocence of offense through trial by fire. Trial by fire continued to be a favored means of gathering evidence into the Spanish Inquisition. The ancient Persians used a variation which involved pouring molten metal upon the bare chest of a suspect; if the suspect was not burned it was evidence of innocence. Likely few established their innocence in such a manner.
Trial by water was another favored practice, including the test of retrieving a stone, or another object, from a cauldron of boiling water. In Anglo-Saxon Britain, where judicial combat was not widely practiced, trial by ordeal was formalized. The depth of the boiling water from which a stone must be extracted varied according to the severity of the charge being tested. Minor crimes allowed the water to be wrist deep, more severe required immersion up to the elbow. The test occurred in a church, with religious officials presiding, and the faithful praying for God to reveal the truth through the results. After three days, had the burns not healed as adjudged by a doctor and a priest, the guilt of the party was deemed established. He then faced the legal penalties for the crime for which his guilt had been established.