Law and Order of the Middle Ages

As most people would already presume, life during the medieval times was much different than it is today. Their diets, clothes, houses, and general ways of living were hardly in comparison to ours. Another great area of their lifestyles that differs from ours is law and order. Their ways of justice and punishment vary greatly from those of the twenty-first century. In most views, it was much more difficult to keep order during the Middle Ages, because there was no democracy. There were many who opposed the feudal system, and as a result, wreaked havoc.
The main way to bring forth law and order during medieval times, was through harsh laws. The criminal often underwent excruciating trials that are far different than the ones we have today. Each accused individual then went through many different ordeals. Perhaps the most common was by combat. In this, the suspect was to battle against a strong fighter while in full armor. If they were innocent, then God would grant them the strength to defeat their much stronger opponent.
Another ordeal that was often used was by fire. They were forced to hold a very hot piece of metal for a short length of time. Within a few days, if the wound healed, they were innocent by the help of God. Another option, would have been an ordeal by bread. The accused was forced to swallow a whole piece of bread without chewing. If they choked, they were found guilty. There was one more common ordeal to be used during this time. It is the ordeal by cold water. The idea here is that the water is pure. Therefore, it would repel the guilty and sink the innocent. So, if they were innocent, they would sink, which doesn't seem at all logical to our democratic society.
Our ideas about justice and law vary greatly from those during the Middle Ages. Perhaps, their views would work in our generation. The accused are automatically subject to some sort of torture so that their guilt will be surfaced. Would crime diminish if we took these precautions? Whose to know; but, it is still something to ponder.