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Medieval Justice

By Dan Filler, Laura Appleman et al.

<p>From the <em>Boston Globe</em> <a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/01/31/justice_medieval_style/?page=1">comes Peter Leeson's</a> "defense" of the medieval ordeal.  Here's a sample:</p><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote"><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 21px; font-size: 15px; "><div class="articlePluckHidden" style="display: block; "><p>Modern observers have roundly condemned ordeals for being cruel and arbitrary. Ordeals seem to reflect everything that was wrong with the Dark Ages. They're an icon of medieval barbarism and backwardness.</p></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 21px; font-size: 15px; "><div class="articlePluckHidden" style="display: block; "><p>But a closer look suggests something very different: The ordeal system worked surprisingly well. It accurately determined who was guilty and who was innocent, sorting genuine criminals from those who had been wrongly accused. Stranger still, the ordeal system suggests that pervasive superstition can be good for society. Medieval legal systems leveraged citizens' superstitious beliefs through ordeals, making it possible to secure criminal justice where it would have otherwise been impossible to do so. Some superstitions, at least, may evolve and persist for a good reason: They help us accomplish goals we couldn't otherwise accomplish, or accomplish them more cheaply.</p></div></span></div></blockquote><div>I'm glad to see that some major newspaper is still willing to devote space to medieval legal history -- I had no idea that any would.  Interested in learning more?  <a href="http://www.peterleeson.com/Ordeals.pdf">Check this out</a>.  Or his new book, <em><a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8850.html">Invisible Hook</a>: The Hidden Economics of Pirates</em>.  Now that's a great title!</div>

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on February 05, 2010 (boomark / email).