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Alfet

Medieval torture device

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complete sections 5.27
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Words
87
Native text
620 characters
Dictionary match
77%
Revision
1294217440 · 2025-06-06T10:34:57Z
Key vocabulary

Words to check before reading

person2 uses in this article alfet2 uses in this article Glossarium1 uses in this article purgation1 uses in this article cauldron1 uses in this article infected1 uses in this article innocent1 uses in this article unhealed1 uses in this article accused1 uses in this article ancient1 uses in this article boiling1 uses in this article cleanly1 uses in this article English1 uses in this article However1 uses in this article filled1 uses in this article guilty1 uses in this article ordeal1 uses in this article period1 uses in this article plunge1 uses in this article victim1 uses in this article

Overview

An alfet (, "fire vat") was an ancient cauldron filled with boiling water, into which an accused person was to plunge his arm up to his elbow. Its use was a form of trial by ordeal. The arm and hand were then bound and left for three days. If the wound was found to have begun to heal cleanly the person was judged to be innocent. However, if the scald was infected or unhealed, the victim was held to be guilty. It was also used for purgation. The earliest known use of the noun Alfet is in the Old English period (pre-1150).

References

* *Charles Dufresne, Sieur Du Cange, Glossarium mediæ et infimæ Latinitatis. 1840–50; 1883–87.

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