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trial by battle

British

noun

history a method of trying an accused person or of settling a dispute by a personal fight between the two parties involved or, in some circumstances, their permitted champions, in the presence of a judge. It was introduced to England after the Norman Conquest and abolished in 1819

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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trial by battle

Thornton was a free man, and the case was swiftly followed by a change in the law in 1819, banning such appeals and therefore trial by battle.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2018

Its trial by battle is not far off.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Let us move along, my lords. We have two queens to try for high treason, you may recall. My niece has elected trial by battle, she informs me. Ser Robert Strong will champion her.”

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

The spectators became restive, wondering what the hitch was, and why the trial by battle did not proceed in the usual way.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Her only hope was trial by battle, and for that she must needs have a champion.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023