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VI. — On the Forms of Ordeal anciently practised in Ireland. By 

 William M. Hennessy. 



[Read January 28, 1867.] 



The subject which I have ventured to bring under the notice of the 

 Academy this evening is one that, to illustrate it thoroughly, would 

 require a much longer dissertation than could be included within the 

 limits of a single paper. It is not, therefore, my intention at present 

 to submit any lengthened observations on the question of Ordeal in 

 general, as practised in various countries, especially as it has been de- 

 scribed by several writers, whose works are accessible to every inquirer. 

 Spelman and Du Cange have given pretty extensive lists of the diffe- 

 rent authorities on the origin and practice of the Ordeal, under the words 

 " OrdaHum," " Judicium Dei," or " Judicium Divinum;'' but the most 

 comprehensive and valuable guide to the subject will be found in Jacob 

 Grimm's u Deutsche Eechtsalterthiimer," under the head of " Gottes- 

 urtheil." 



My reason for bringing the question of the Ancient Irish system of 

 Ordeal under the notice of the Academy is, that in all the works which 

 I have consulted on the matter I have found little or no reference to any 

 of the forms used by the people of this country. It is true that Sir 

 James Ware has devoted a brief chapter to the subject ; but he mostly 

 assumes that the English system of trial by Ordeal was introduced into 

 Ireland by the Anglo-Normans. It is strange that the original Irish 

 authority to which I shall presently refer should have escaped him, 

 especially as he had the assistance in his researches of one, at least, of 

 the best Irish scholars of his time — I mean, Duald Mac Pirbis. 



It is scarcely necessary to observe that many of the methods used to 

 distinguish between guilt and innocence, or truth and falsehood, which 

 passed under the general name of Ordeal (from urtJieil, the German 

 word for judgment) were of Pagan origin, some of them being common 

 to most nations before the commencement of the Christian era. 



Some authors assert that the trial by Ordeal was borrowed by the 

 European nations from the Jews, by whom it was practised at a very 

 early age, as appears from many passages in the Old Testament ; but, 

 as the practice was common to all nations from the earliest times, it is 

 difficult to decide, 



The oldest forms of Ordeal were apparently fire and water ; i. e. 

 red hot iron, or cinders, and cold water — the hot water being, as I 

 believe, a variation introduced within the Christian period. The in- 

 stances given in the Old Testament in the cases of Achan (Josue, vii.) 

 and Jonas (i.) indicate that the Ordeal by lot was also a very ancient 

 form ; for the falling of the lot to a person then involved guilt. It is 

 alleged that the fire Ordeal was a luxury reserved to the noble, while the 

 ignoble proved their guilt or innocence by cold water ; but this also 

 seems to be a change introduced during the Middle Ages, as many an- 



