Trial by Combat: Sword in the Courtroom

In medieval England, justice could hinge on the clash of steel rather than the writ of law. We trace how trial by combat emerged from Norman legal practice, how its formalities reflected contemporary beliefs about divine judgment, and why it eventually fell out of use. The episode also explores what surviving evidence tells us and why the spectacle has outlived itself in popular imagination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices