shall have entered the place of combat, the feudal lord
shall station some of his people to watch the place, and one of
these shall say, in the presence of the others, to each of the
combatants: 'Select your weapons which ye desire in order to finish
the combat.' This they shall do, and the weapons selected shall be
kept in the place, and the rest carried away. Then shall each
combatant be made to swear that he carries about his person neither
talisman, nor charm, nor witchcraft, that he has had no such
provided for this combat, and that no other person has done this
with his knowledge, that he has neither given nor promised anything
to any one to procure the making of talisman, charm, or witchcraft,
in order to aid himself or damage his antagonist in this contest,
and that he bears about him no other weapons than those seen by the
court.

'Then shall they bring the combatants together upon the place of
combat, where there shall be a copy of the gospels. The accused
shall first swear upon his knees with his right hand upon the
gospels, and shall say: 'As I have not murdered the deceased, so
help me God and the holy gospel.' The complainant shall say that he
lies, and that he takes him up as a perjured person, and shall then
take him by the thumb, and shall swear: 'So let God and his holy
gospel help me, as the accused murdered the deceased.' And then
shall the guards station the combatants, one at each end of the
place, and the proclamation shall be made at all the four corners
of the field, that no one of whatever rank shall do or say anything
by which either party can be helped or hindered, and in case any
one shall do so, his person and goods shall fall to his feudal
lord. And if the corpse of the murdered person is present, it shall
be so placed as to be seen over the entire place of combat, and the
complainant, whether man or woman, in case of being represented by
a combatant, shall be there bound so as neither to benefit nor
injure either of the parties by word, or deed, or bearing, and
shall only pray to God, but not so as to be heard by either
combatant. * * * And the guard shall so arrange that the sun cannot
shine more in the face of one than of the other; and one of the
guards shall then say: 'Shall the command now be given? We have