Trials by ordeal, by fire or water, and by combat were commonly used to determine guilt or innocence in cases where the answer was not obvious. All were based on the idea that God would protect the innocent and judge the guilty. In the new millennium, legal scholars began moving toward a more rational criminal procedure with less reliance on supernatural intervention. In some parts of Europe (especially in cities and in Italy), Roman law was revived; in other parts, customary law was codified and rationalized to provide a more systematic, written system of law and criminal procedure.
