University of Oklahoma
Trial by combat (or, more formally, judicial duels) were increasingly unusual by the end of the middle ages, but they were still an accepted part of legal theory and practice through the renaissance. They could be used in cases of treason (since judges were agents of the king, and the king was the offended party, it was a way to preserve impartiality) and a variety of other criminal and civil cases where there was not overwhelming evidence on one side or the other. Only a few people were exempt - clergymen, for instance - and women were not among them. As a result, women sometimes fought.
In 1467, Hans Talhoffer wrote his Fechtbuch giving illustrated instructions on how duels with a great variety of weapons should be fought. One section deals with combats between a man a woman. R. Coltman Clephan, following R.L Pearsall, reports that, while these were rare in Germany after about 1200, a number of illustrations refer to them. The set-up pictured by Talhoffer is common, but not universal. Apparently, they were most common between husband and wife (because otherwise she would have less trouble finding a champion?) Talhoffer presents his isntructions without special comment, and his advice applies to both combatants. He gives two different versions of a fight, one with the man victorious, one with the woman winning.
The pictures reproduced below are scanned from xeroxes of a facsimile of the manuscript edited by Gustav Hersgsell in 1887. The transcription of the original German is from the facsimile; the English translation and commentary are mine.
http://www.aemma.org/onlineResources/tr ... _woman.htm
