This book talks about the last trial by combat in the history of France, between a knight named Jean de Carrouges and a squire named Jacques LeGris. The two men were originally friends, but as the fortunes of one fell and the other’s rose, they grew apart. Carrouges resented his friend’s good fortune and their feudal lord’s favours to him. One day Carrouges returned from a long journey to Paris to hear a terrible tale coming from his wife’s lips. LeGris had forced his way into the house where she was staying. At the time she had been quite alone. And there he and another man had “known her carnally”. It was a terrible fate for any woman, and many would have kept quiet to avoid the public shame.

But Carrouges and his wife did not keep quiet, but went all the way up to the king of France to sue for redress. LeGris denied it all, of course, and produced alibis. Both sides produced legal briefs arguing for and against the need for trial by combat. Finally Carrouges’ request was agreed to.

That it was agreed to was a rare occurrence. There were several legal points a case had to fulfill for trial by combat to be permitted, and many previous requests had been denied. But this one was approved, probably for political reasons.

On the fateful day, the two men were enclosed within a field of combat. Only one of them would be permitted to leave. This was combat till death. And Carrouges’ wife stood on a scaffold and watched white-faced, for if her husband died so would she. The outcome of trial by combat was decided by God, and the verdict was final and irrefutable.

Well, not so irrefutable. Public opinion was split to begin with as to the guilt or innocence of LeGris. And even after the end of the duel, people continued to challenge the outcome, or at least mutter quietly about it. So much so that no further request for trial of combat was ever granted again. The custom was soon abolished, tainted by this scandal.

The story is written very straightforwardly, starting with Carrouges’ and LeGris’ ancestors and how they came by their positions in life, onward through LeGris’ rise and Carrouges’ fall, the rape, the accusation, the legal niceties, the duel itself and then the outcome. The writing style is smooth and many historical details are neatly incorporated so that you learn a lot about the Middle Ages, medieval France, chivalry and the legal codes of the time, without really realising it. If I had a quibble with the book it was that there was repetition in a couple of places, which was annoying. But otherwise the story engrosses you completely and I had the book finished in two hours on the plane.

One detail that I liked was that medieval clerics objected to trial by combat because it “put God to the test”. I thought that was an interesting piece of medieval theology.