The ordeals （神判法) were appeals the supernatural to determine the guilt or innocence of

The ordeals (神判法) were appeals the supernatural to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. They were 【21】______ the Judicium Dei, judgment of God, or simply judicium. There is some 【22】______ of trial by ordeal in sixth century Frankish 【23】______ . The ordeals spread very rapidly 【24】______ Christianity spread to the east in Europe and to England and Ireland.

In the early Middle Ages it was widely used to 【25】______ legal questions in Western Europe. In England it was a 【26】______ form. of trial and was 【27】______ until trial by jury become 【28】______ forms of the ordeal varied 【29】______ the nature of the crime.

The greatest use of the ordeals was from the ninth to the twelfth century. In the continent of Europe, ordeals, in 【30】______ to their use in 【31】______ person accused of crime, were used for political purposes e. g. , by a claimant to a kingship of land to prove he was 【32】______ to the land, by women who were willing to undergo ordeals to disprove accusations of infidelity, and to determine who owned certain lands. In England, 【33】______ . ordeals were used only in criminal 【34】______ .

Criticism of ordeals was 【35】______ as early as the ninth century. By the twelfth century criticism had become general. It was 【36】______ that ordeals did not necessarily give the correct answer even 【37】______ the answer came from God. This was 【38】______ on the idea that God may wish to punish an innocent person not for the 【39】______ alleged but for some other offense not known to anyone 【40】______ the accused. Therefore, God may consider those accused people to be entitled to anther chance.

【21】

A．presented

B．called

C．known

D．titled