Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Canfara was a way of determining if someone was guilty or innocent by subjecting them to a dangerous or painful physical test, such as holding a hot piece of metal or being submerged in cold water. People believed that God would reveal the truth through the outcome of the ordeal. This practice was used in Europe until the 13th century, but was eventually forbidden by the Fourth Lateran Council. Other types of ordeals included the bread-and-cheese ordeal and the ordeal of the morsel. Single ordeals were prescribed for less serious crimes, while triple ordeals were for more serious crimes.
Definition: Canfara is a trial by hot iron that was used in England in the past. It was a primitive form of trial where an accused person was subjected to a dangerous or painful physical test, and the result was considered a divine revelation of the person's guilt or innocence. The participants believed that God would reveal a person's culpability by protecting an innocent person from some or all consequences of the ordeal. The ordeal was commonly used in Europe until the 13th century, but only sporadically after 1215, when the Fourth Lateran Council forbade the clergy from participating in ordeals.
Examples:
The examples illustrate how the ordeal worked and how guilt or innocence was determined. In the ordeal by fire, the accused person had to hold a hot metal or walk barefoot across a hot surface, and the judgment of guilt or innocence depended on how quickly and cleanly the person's hands or feet healed. In the ordeal by water, the accused person had to float or sink after being submerged in cold water, and the judgment of guilt or innocence depended on whether the person floated or sank. In the ordeal of the morsel, the person who was to make the proof was given a piece of bread or cheese that a priest had charged to stick in the throat of the guilty, and the judgment of guilt or innocence depended on whether the person choked or not.