Secondly, if the accused could not clear himself in this way, he was
obliged to submit to the ordeal.[2] This usually consisted in
carrying a piece of hot iron a certain distance, or in plunging the
arm up to the elbow in boiling water.
[2] Ordeal: a severe test or judgment
The person who underwent the ordeal appealed to God to prove his
innocence by protecting him from harm. Rude as both these methods
were, they were better than the old tribal method, which permitted
every man or every man's family to be the avenger of his wrongs.