Medieval Misconceptions: TRIAL BY COMBAT, the Judicial Duel 

Hi Shad! There are indeed examples of “champions” fighting in Hólmgangs in place of the offended party, at least in Iceland. The most well known example being from Gisli’s Saga, when a professional dueler, aptly named Hólmgang-Skeggi, is hired to duel a man named Kolbjorn for the hand of Gisli’s sister Thordis. Since Kolbjorn was not a warrior, Gisli then steps in to take his place against Hólmgang-Skeggi, so in this case we have a Hólmgang in which both offended parties resolved the duel using champions!

Shad's wife: fool while you made those videos I have mastered the blade

Husband and wife: "it's your turn to do the dishes!" "Oh yeah... wanna fight about it?"

"Fight it out and whoever wins... is the winner." Man, I’m so proud of my heritage as a human being.

I'm imagining a fight in old england between an 8-year old and a 59 year old woman.

"If there was such a warrior who could beat everyone" *Shows dashing picture of himself* 🤣

6:05 First occurence of video games' three lives in history? :P

"I need you for a duel" "Who am I fighting? " "Does it matter? " "...No"

How the mordhau grip was invented. Hmm, I can't slashy slash, better smashy smash

Man, I get SO friggin excited when I see these in my feed when I get home. One of the best Australians to ever live right here

I've read of at least French case where a duel was ordered for slander. One party realised that they had no chance against a much more skilled opponent and actually injured themselve to not fight. He asked for his brother who was much better to represent him. His brother won the duel.

Shadiversity’s videos always helps me when I am writing RPG campaigns. These details makes the roleplay much more immersive

Amazing historical context for duels to perform in stage combat. The motivations of the duelists, the rules of engagement, the (lack of) protective equipment. Thanks Shad for such a fascinating overview of subject! Will share this with my stage combat friends for creation of stories!

_I accuse you of not being able to defeat me in a duel_ Let's decide it by trail by combat.

Should judicial duels be reinstated by law, I can imagine that law firms would be training champions to fight such duels on behalf of their clients. In this case it becomes a sort of investment in a gladiator.

Shad Fact: Physicist are concerned that if a Shad strike ever met a Norris Round House kick, it would release so much energy it would begin "The Big Rip". And only The Metatron would be around to see how the dual ended. (Our money is on Shad)

I was giggling at the alien then lost it at cosby

Chuck Norris looks under his bed for Shad. Shad looks under his bed for a decent challenge.

In your video I'm missing a mention of the very important concept of _legal certainty_ when it comes to judicial duels. This is to say that a judicial duel was often considered to be a practical way to put an _end_ to a conflict of members of the same group by somehow deciding on an official outcome, _no matter how_ . The goal wasn't necessarily to have the most _just_ outcome but to have an end to the conflict because conflicts among their members are a threat to societies in general. So it was better to have an unjust outcome instead of none at all. (We still have this today, btw, we just have better ways to determine the truth before we have to fall back on potentially unjust verdicts. But when the truth cannot be determined anymore, we have things like »in dubio pro reo« to find an _end_ to a conflict, which, of course, also isn't _just_ because things like too little evidence or recently died witnesses don't make it _just_ not to punish a criminal.) You are right when you say that using a potentially lethal way to find the outcome ensured that nobody (or at least nearly nobody) was taking this lightly, so it was a practical way of determining _some_ outcome. Only if both parties were determined to go to that length, a life was put at risk. And yes, sometimes people also thought that some kind of deity would likely intervene to produce the just outcome, and that thought also was pushed by the (religious) authorities as a means to establish or fasten this practical way to end inner-society conflicts. But I doubt that really many people would rely confidently on this assumption of justice by deity. After the first obviously unjust outcome which then was officially declared to be »true justice« (which you probably wouldn't believe nevertheless), people's faith in that aspect was probably destroyed.

Imagine getting drunk, talk politics, and the next day your servant legally kills you for alleged treason.

Sachsenspiegl, which litterally translates into "the image of Saxony" "Klein Kaiserrecht" means "the little laws of the Kaiser"

3:14 - Now THAT's an anbeatable challenger!🤣🤣🤣

Judicial Duel: I am the better swordsman, so clearly I am innocent. #JustMedievalThings

I wonder how big a factor behind these duels was an attempt to give people a limited, legitimate outlet for hostility that could've otherwise lead to worse violence.

So what I got from this video is Shad has thought about how successful he'd be in a duel with his wife... Shad exposed! 😝

I like that shield breaking version of the homegang, I mean it is almost like having multiple lives in a video game :D

The Bill Cosby picture made me almost spit my coffee

A lot of the discussion for this video reminds me of a conversation from T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, where Arthur posits that whether they used trial by combat with champions, or a bench trial with lawyers, whoever could hire the best would win.

Thank you for another incredible video. With each upload you post you remind me more and more why I subscribed to your channel.

"Now go away or i shall taunt you a second time" "Go ahead, double taunting is an offence punishable by Judicial Duel!" "... youll have to take my castle first! MEN, LAUNCH THE COW!"

I wonder how often rape was actually *used* as justification for a duel. It's pretty damn impossible at the best of times, even with *eyewitnesses* to get justice there, I don't even want to *think* how hard it was back then.

22:40 that takes "going the distance" to a whole new level

JUDICIAL JUUL: Who survives lung cancer can go free.

Videos like these are like a blessing from the gods, you have no idea how much you're helping me with my stories. Also thanks for introducing me to Vinland Sagas, being proud of the Norse half of my ancestry I can't get enough Vikings.

thats a nice copy of hitchhikers on his shelf. I cant stop thinking that every time i watch these

It makes me so happy to see Shad's book on the shelf

Great timing, since I just finished reading “The Last Duel” by Eric Jager. A great book about the last judicial combat in France

hey shad I just went to buy your book on amazon and it's got 4.8 out of 5 stars on barnes and noble good stuff man your a real role model for a lot of people, also your video on being successful and equity and what not really taught me a lot of good stuff no ones ever bothered to share with me

Yes! I'VE NEEDED THIS! Edit: proud of "The 13th Warrior" for getting the duel right by all means feasible at the time.

Australia should introduce Trial by Combat, change my mind Shad

My book has a judicial duel, and in the culture, it's only offered by the leader of the people. It's an alternative offered if there is a fairly even polar divide in opinions of guilt. It's similar to what you mentioned toward the end of the video. Fascinating topic!

Shad, can you do a fictional castle review for Hyrule Castle from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? I think you would like it. It has multiple gatehouses, each with two portcullises, properly sized merlons on some of the battlements, and an excellent position. Sadly, there do not appear to be any MACHICOLATIONS!!!!!!! I would like to get your thoughts on it.

6:45 ... The auto-captions heard "first blood" as "first bladder". As if "first person to piss themselves in fear".

I was always curious about this subject. I took a medieval literature class in university once, where we went over translated French texts such as Song of Roland and Gawain and the Green Knight. The whole metaphorical practice of God presiding over the duels felt strange to me. Thanks for providing clear historical insight.

The way you talk about stuff is amazing. Your enthusiasm is contagious and I'm gladly learning things I didn't know I want to learn about :D

I seem to remember a book, supposedly from the early to mid 1600's, where there is a trial scene, and the "attorney" of the accused man suggests to him "call for a champion", specifically, those were the words. I don't remember the title, and I can't remember if it was an English tale, or Spanish, because I read it during my school years and I was reading both languages. but I do remember that specific phrase, and the book was supposedly written during the 1600's, but the author was probably telling a story set in the 1500's or earlier. I do remember it was set somewhere in Britain (England, or Wales). So, most definitely: _champions_ (by mention, specifically), 1500's, Britain. that'd also suggest the use specifically of "call for a champion" rather than "call for a trial by combat", so it's possible that at some point during the trial the accused would simply demand "a champion", and it could be provided to them, and from that point on the _trial_ would be _by combat_

I have the talhoffer manuescript as a pdf. And i have to say it is a pretty interresting thing to flick through.

Little late to the party but I have been having a hard time finding info regarding this for a book I am writing. Thank you so much!

Your channel is the only subscription on youtube i have. So, when i have a notification, i know its history/castle/sword time!

Also, I heard in our area (middle europe) - If both kill each other - which means both participants died same day duel was fought . ( And It was not that uncommon situation) both was declared guilty and all their property was confiscated by landlord.

There was something I heard a while ago that is relevant to this. The question was posed, "Who does the best swordsman in France fear?" Perhaps somewhat surprisingly he would not fear the second best swordsman in France. The best knows the second best at the very least by reputation, knows something of the second best's fighting style and has a good idea of what the second best swordsman would do in given situations. And in a worst case scenario, if the best swordsman in France was defeated by the second best, the former best swordsman's reputation is not totally ruined. Ok, he was just defeated by the former second best swordsman, but that doesn't mean that just anybody could have done it. On the other hand, if the best swordsman in France faces down just a random noob with a sword who hasn't even been properly trained the situation is different. Because the noob hasn't been trained then he can't be expected to react to things like a trained swordsman would and thus the noob's actions would be unpredictable. This leads to the possibility that the noob could end up taking out the best swordsman in France simply by being really aggressive and getting lucky (or by being defensive and getting even luckier). Furthermore, the best swordsman in France would have his reputation totally destroyed by that result. The former best swordsman in France would then be something of a laughing stock if he survived. People would snicker at him for having been bested by an untrained peasant (or whatever) with a low quality blade that the peasant had found somewhere.

I've been waiting for you to post this video since you mentioned it in the "Dueling with Jazza" vid.

Shads kid: Daddy why you sleep on the couch for a full moon cycle? Shad: well 14:22 my lad 14:22

Wrong. A judicial Juul is when you have a court order to vape.

Shad I just wanted to say I am LOVING your book. Quite the amazing fantasy world you created and a great magic system.

lol that cosby cut really got me.

We need to bring back dueling. It's better than trial by social media.

Gee, I can't see how you could possibly set up a kangaroo court with that. Also isn't this just a more sportsman like way of resisting the state. "I won, and therefore exonerated of murder." "You just murdered someone in front of witnesses."

In some part of Europe, they tried to make trial by combat (or judicial duels) more fair by forcing the duelists to fight with a weapon that specifically developed for these duels. It was called a dueling shield and it was so bizzare that even an experience combattant would have issues with wielding it. To make sure nobody cheated, praticing with the weapon or wielding it outside of a judicial duel was made illegal and in some places even punishable by death without the possibility of asking for a judicial duel.

I am simple man. I see history. I click.

Hard to concentrate when you're captivated by Ragnar's fight ^^

Judicial Dueling in America 2019: Accuser - "Hey! That was mine! Give it back!" Defender - "Fight me, Bro!"

So, as always, thing were done inconsistently in/among different places... BUT here are some (relatively) common trends in such occurrences, but were by no means universal. Fascinating to hear about such regional practices.

You know I’m partial to your historical content, and this was great!!!

In "Il sangue dell'onore" I read that during a certain time-span (1000-1200 broadly speaking) the use of a champion would be standard. This led do the birth of "professional duelists" and to the point where the parts in trial would not know who their champion was until the end of the fight. Unfortunately the text is not more specific than that because it's primarily concerned with honour duels but it's a very reliable essay,

3:40 lol, judicial duel to the death, no weapons allowed. that would be a sight to behold...

The books in the background looks awesome!

After hearing the word duel so many times I thought I was watching Yu-Gi-Oh!

A great movie with a major plot point that showcases a judicial duel- Excalibur. The best Arthurian legend movie, of course.

Hi Shad I just noticed that one of the books behind you has a Star Trek badge on the spine. Can we get an episode on the books you have and some of the items you have on your shelves.

I'm confused, the video said this would be talking about duels but all you talked about are jewels all video.

Dawn to sunset, Okay. In Iceland during high summer. (Owing to Iceland's proximity to the Arctic Circle, the country experiences “white nights” in the summer months due to the midnight sun, a natural phenomenon in which the setting sun doesn't fully dip below the horizon. Iceland experiences its peak daylight hours during the Summer Solstice in late June.)

the ripped shad is in my dreams now we just need to make it real :)

"There's a very high chance 1 misstep will lead to your death" Back ground picture is gloveless man in pyjamas charging at defensive full plated man holding a sword by the blade

😂😂 I'll tell you. The bill Cosby photo got me

Judicial jewels that's what I keep hearing and its hilarious Judicial jewels and whoever wins is the winner lol This dude is awesome

There is an example of that three shield duel in the movie called the 13th warrior just in case you’re curious

Hiring a duelist to fight for you. sounds like a good TV show

Man I can't stop hearing a judicial Jewel it's really messing me up. Lol I love your content regardless. Thanks for the great work.

that damn ending!! gah!!

I like how in 3:15 Shad had to photoshop bigger shoulders for the mountain, as if he's not already big enough

Trial by Combat?!? Okay There, Rudy Giuliani!!!!

I'm not being hyperbolic, or trolling. We absolutely need this.

Complements skall's vid on jarnac nicely, thanks.

The thing I find interesting about the champions is they’re sort of like old time lawyers, except they legally represent their side through force of arms rather than logical debate. It’d be interesting if you had a fantasy setting where that was essentially standard practice, the way having a lawyer is in the modern era, and whenever nobles were accused of a crime they would typically choose one of their most capable knights to represent them in a duel. Mercenaries may also be used in certain instances, maybe more commonly by wealthy non-nobles like successful merchants. Poor non-nobles would be kinda screwed and forced to duel themselves.

Happy birthday shad

Absolute mad lad! He said it! Oh boi, i have some HRE enthusiasts i am gonna piss off today!!

Just wanna say I'm reading shadow of the conqueror on audible and it's awesome!

Thank you, Shad! I was actually quite curious about these "Trial by Combat" cases back in the day! ;)

Your videos give me plenty of great DND ideas

This is really fascinating, I'd love to see more about this subject!

fist time seeing a video posted 1minute ago :^D

Fantastic video, very factual and informative. Just Great.

The original 360 noscope contest.

... ... ... Huh? Wha? Oh. Um, "DRAGONS!" Sorry, I was distracted by Ragnar and Haroldson (...why is a surname his given name?).

I don't know much about judicial jules, but I'm pretty proud of my family jules. Also, 10,000 Joules used for electrocutions were pretty nasty as well, measured from 2000V and 5A. Sorry Shad, I had to... Great pictures for the reasons for duels!! That cracked me up!! :)

Happy belated birthday Shad! Hope you enjoyed your spaghetti bolognese.

Complete off topic for fantasy and just for fun: 19:47 I’m pretty sure dare devil can win most fights if he trapped in mid evil, and he might be able to talk his way out as well

Imagine if Among Us was like this

I wonder if using a prisoner, and releasing him after a number of victories, was some strange holdover from the Roman gladiators.