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Simple English definitions for legal terms

cold-water ordeal

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A quick definition of cold-water ordeal:

A cold-water ordeal is a type of trial that was used in the past to determine if someone was guilty or innocent of a crime. The accused person would be tied up and lowered into a pond or river. If they sank, they were considered innocent because the water had "received them" with God's blessing. If they floated, they were considered guilty because the water had rejected them. This type of trial was used until the 13th century in Europe, but was eventually banned by the church.

A more thorough explanation:

A cold-water ordeal is a primitive form of trial where an accused person is subjected to a dangerous or painful physical test, and the result is considered a divine revelation of their guilt or innocence. The accused is trussed and lowered into a pond, and if they sink, the water is deemed to have 'received them' with God's blessing, and they are quickly fished out. This type of 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.

Another example of an ordeal is the ordeal of the morsel, where the person who was to make the proof was given a one-ounce piece of bread or cheese that a priest had solemnly charged to stick in the throat of the guilty. A person who choked was declared guilty, and a person who did not was declared innocent.

These examples illustrate how ordeals were used to determine guilt or innocence in a way that was believed to be divinely guided. They were often painful and dangerous, and the outcome was seen as a sign from God. However, as society progressed, these methods were deemed unreliable and were eventually phased out.

cold-comfort letter | colegatee

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JumpySubsequentDolphin
21:35
no he’s literally like 8 and he fully just put his head on my bicep and slept
JumpySubsequentDolphin
21:35
he has since moved
22:12
@SplitterusClitterus: me yesterday
gulc baby pls text me back... i miss you ...... :(
22:23
i just went into a discord vc and yelled "YALL I JUST GOT INTO J.M. SCHOOL OF LAW"
22:24
people were getting excited :sob:
22:25
then someone was like "what does jm stand for" and i was like .. well
AHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH
@JumpySubsequentDolphin: wait this is so cute, also where r u going
JOE MBIDEN
JumpySubsequentDolphin
22:39
@splitty Oregon!
oh yay for what thats so random
JumpySubsequentDolphin
22:45
haha my brother and sister in law live there
so cutie oregon is beatiful
soyalmondoatmilk
8:38
good morning! hoping waves will come our wave today
8:42
GW wave today?
8:57
There’s someone I found on here with the username threeoutchange and if my understanding is correct that’s a reference to the debut album by a pretty cool 90s-00s Japanese band called Supercar. I geeked a little
8:57
It could just be a baseball reference I don’t get though lol
Dkk
9:00
@renard99: also, the same band that does a song in the anime Eureka 7 which I watched when I was like idk, 12
9:00
Yeah! They are pretty good. Three Out Change is an awesome J-rock record
Dkk
9:01
I will probably not listen to them more but fun fact. Really random to start the day. An omen that the waves will be very random today.
Dkk
9:03
Fuck, reading the wikipedia now. Literal last song they did before they broke up was Storywriter. Wow.
9:05
That one is a masterpiece
9:05
My favorite song by them is Recreation
glovediedthisishismom
9:05
snowing
Dkk
9:07
@renard99: man, hard to find.
Dkk
9:07
@glovediedthisishismom: Congrats on the snow.
Dkk
9:16
@renard99: Poetic and nice.
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