Final answer:
The process where defendants in the Middle Ages proved innocence through a dangerous task is known as 'trial by ordeal'. This encompassed different types such as trial by fire, water, and combat, and was based on the belief that divine intervention would reveal the truth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct option : a
The name of the process in the Middle Ages where a defendant would perform some dangerous task to prove innocence is a. trial by ordeal.Trial by ordeal was a judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, experience. The main idea was that the outcome of the ordeal was determined by divine intervention: if the accused was innocent, God would protect them and they would emerge unharmed, or less harmed than expected. Different types of ordeals included trial by fire, where an accused would carry a piece of red-hot iron or walk over hot ploughshares; trial by water, typically involving cold water where an innocent person would sink and a guilty person would float; and trial by combat, where the accused would fight to prove their innocence or guilt.
There were also numerous medieval punishments that involved varying degrees of torture, such as drawing and quartering, burning at the stake, and other barbaric methods. The shift towards a more humane legal system began with the Enlightenment, which challenged such practices with reason and led to reforms aimed at more enlightened and sophisticated methods of justice.