Why Trial By Ordeal Was Effective Society Pick of the day
A game theory of how trial by ordeal worked — more or less — in medieval times. Priests would rig the proceedings to spare those who were clearly innocent and were willing to risk agony to prove as much. In these cases the water into which the accused plunged a hand was not actually boiling; the burning iron to be grasped was not so hot. The trial thus retained public confidence by sparing the wrongly accused while still intimidating those who knew themselves to be guilty (1,200 words)
