On This Day in History Shit Went Down: April 20

Trial by battle

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When Pedro Pascal got his head squished by “the Mountain” in Game of Thrones I was all ew fucking gross. Sure coulda used that Mandalorian helmet during that trial by combat. Author George R.R. Martin borrowed a lot from history to write his books, including people fighting to the death to “prove” innocence. Such “trial by battle” was invoked in England for the final time in 1818. 

--On This Day in History, Shit Went Down: April 20, 1818--

The whole trial by combat idea was imported to Britain by the Normans, who were Viking settlers in Normandy, France. They were known for loving a good scrap. They embraced the “martial spirit,” figuring might makes right so if a dude won in single combat it must mean justice was done. It mostly stopped being a thing by the end of the 17th century, until Abraham Thornton used it to weasel his way out of a murder charge. 

On May 26, 1817, Mary Ashford was at a party at a pub in Birmingham, England. Thornton was enamored and spent the evening speaking with her, later walking her home. It was alleged Thornton said he’d banged Mary’s sister and wanted to give Mary a go “or die for it,” whatever that means. 

Mary’s body was found in a water-filled pit the next morning. A man’s footprints were found leaving the scene. Thornton was arrested; his undergarments had blood on them, and his shoes were a match for the prints at the murder scene. Everyone was saying oh yeah that fucker’s guilty as fuck, but the jury acquitted him. He might not have been guilty. He did admit to having sex with her and that she was menstruating, which is where he said the blood came from. The autopsy showed death by drowning, and the defense presented alibis shedding doubt on Thornton being the culprit. 

Regardless, the people were fucking pissed. Mary’s brother William Ashford launched an appeal. During the appeal Thornton said he wasn’t guilty and literally threw down a leather gauntlet, saying he was ready to defend himself “with my body.” Ashford did not pick up the gauntlet. Rather, Ashford’s lawyer was all the fuck is going on he killed the sister and now he wants to kill the brother? This is some serious bullshit, your honor. Paraphrased. 

The court said okay we need to think about this. And so they did. For a few months. And on April 16 they said you know what? The evidence against Thornton isn’t overwhelming. He does have a right to trial by battle. Ashford was given time to consider if he wanted to accept, and on April 20, 1818, Ashford said nah I think he’d probably ghost my ass so let the fucker go. And that’s what happened. 

Trial by battle was abolished in Britain two months later. Realizing no one in England liked him, Thornton took a ship bound for New York in September of that year. 

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