Legal Definitions - trial by corsnaed

Trial by corsnaed is a primitive form of trial where an accused person is subjected to a dangerous or painful physical test. The result is considered a divine revelation of the person's guilt or innocence.

For example, in the ordeal of the morsel, the accused person is given a piece of bread or cheese that a priest has charged to stick in the throat of the guilty. If the person chokes, they are declared guilty, and if they do not, they are declared innocent.

These ordeals were commonly used in Europe until the 13th century, but only sporadically after 1215 when the Fourth Lateran Council forbade the clergy from participating in ordeals.

The examples illustrate how trial by corsnaed was a superstitious and dangerous way of determining guilt or innocence. It relied on divine intervention and often resulted in harm to the accused person.