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Couples Had An Unusual Way Of Resolving Disputes During The Middle Ages
It was through the horrifying practice of divorce by combat
Just before the divorce courts were invented and use of witnesses became popular, married couples could settle their disputes by fighting themselves in a marital duel. In a marital duel, both parties engaged in a physical combat with each other through the use of clubs and rocks.
This practice was common in Medieval Germany and continued throughout the middle ages. Although it started as a part of the Germanic law, the judicially sanctioned marital duel gained more prominence and later spread to Europe where it became legally recognized amongst husbands and wives.
For a marital duel to occur, certain procedures and manuals were used, detailing what was to be done.
Background
In the past, trial by combat was quite popular, although it was unusual to see women as opponents. A woman could only partake in it if she needed to defend herself when she had been accused of committing a crime and had to fight her case by combat.
In such an instance, a designated opponent would be assigned to her.
Many women got into trials by combat because of their husbands. During the duels, women mostly had their husbands as their opponents. Rather than resolving their issues as normal couples would, they simply took to the ring.
Before the physical face-off, the couples are usually given the option of resolving their issues within a month or two, or face each other in combat afterwards. However, the duel wouldn’t happen if the couple could make peace with each other and settle.
The competing couple would have to wear a tight-fitting bodysuit with a hood. Other times, the female participant had to wear a special long chemise with a sack-like sleeve containing stones.
The Duel Begins
The practice came with bizarre restrictions. During the fight, the man was put into a hole and one of his arms…
