Question 1 of 8Correct: 0
Why did authorities make executions a spectacle for crowds?
Why were executions eventually removed from public squares?
Why was a confession so important to the old court?
Why didn't this method produce the truth?
Why were animals tried and executed in public?
Why did animal trials almost disappear?
Why did the ordeals produce so many acquittals?
Who actually decided the trial by iron?
Questions from 4 articles
Each one takes 2 minutes to read. Stuck on a question? Peek at the article.
Why executions were public0/2Why Confessions Were Extracted Through Torturein the app0/2How Animals Were Put on Trial0/2What Is Trial by Ordealin the app0/2
A quiz after every article
In the app, a quiz like this follows every article, and every read grows your streak and level.
Answers and explanations8 questions
- Why did authorities make executions a spectacle for crowds? To affirm the law's power for everyoneThe spectacle was a message to the living: power showed that breaking the law would not go unanswered.From “Why executions were public”
- Why were executions eventually removed from public squares? Crowds were hard to control, and news spread in papersThe square stopped being a controllable stage, while newspapers spread details of executions without it.From “Why executions were public”
- Why was a confession so important to the old court? It counted as full proof, often needed for a convictionUnder the formal rules, full proof meant two eyewitnesses or a person's own confession.From “Why Confessions Were Extracted Through Torture”
- Why didn't this method produce the truth? Under pain, people say what others want to hearThe method confirmed any theory investigators put forward, so it served the theory instead of testing it.From “Why Confessions Were Extracted Through Torture”
- Why were animals tried and executed in public? To restore order in front of the communityThe trial was aimed not at the animal but at the spectators: it showed them that order had been restored and the guilty party punished.From “How Animals Were Put on Trial”
- Why did animal trials almost disappear? Responsibility was tied to understanding a prohibitionOnce responsibility required understanding a prohibition, animals were no longer seen as defendants, and blame was sought in the owner.From “How Animals Were Put on Trial”
- Why did the ordeals produce so many acquittals? Mostly believers in their own innocence reached themA guilty person who believed exposure was inevitable was more likely to confess or avoid the trial beforehand.From “What Is Trial by Ordeal”
- Who actually decided the trial by iron? The priest who examined the wound days laterFormally, the higher power decided; in practice, it was someone with information about the community.From “What Is Trial by Ordeal”