extent of the sentence. Magna Carta does not prescribe that the
king shall punish according to the sentence of the peers; but only
that he shall not punish "unless according to" that sentence. He
may acquit or pardon, notwithstanding their sentence or judgment;
but he cannot punish, except according to their judgment.

[23] The trial by battle was one in which the accused challenged
his accuser to single combat, and staked tbe question of his guilt or
innocence on the result of the duel. This trial was introduced into
England by the Normans, within one hundred and fifty years
before Magna Carta. It was not very often resorted to even by the
Normans themselves; probably never by the Anglo-Saxons, unless
in their controversies with the Normans. It was strongly
discouraged by some of the Norman princes, particularly by Henry
II., by whom the trial by jury was especially favored. It is probable
that the trial by battle, so far as it prevailed at all in England, was
rather tolerated as a matter of chivalry, than authorized as a matter
of law. At any rate, it is not likely that it was included in the
"legem terrae" of Magna Carta, although such duels have
occasionally occurred since that time, and have, by some, been
supposed to be lawful. I apprehend that nothing can be properly
said to be a part of lex terrae, unless it can be shown either to have
been of Saxon origin, or to have been recognized by Magna Carta.

The trial by ordeal was of various kinds. In one ordeal the accused
was required to take hot iron in his hand; in another to walk
blindfold among red-hot ploughshares; in another to thrust his arm
into boiling water; in another to be thrown, with his hands and feet
bound, into cold water; in another to swallow the morsel of
execration; in the confidence that his guilt or innocence would be