1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Chance-medley

CHANCE-MEDLEY (from the A.-Fr. chance-medlée, a mixed chance, and not from chaude-medlée, a hot affray), an accident of a mixed character, an old term in English law for a form of homicide arising out of a sudden affray or quarrel. The homicide has not the characteristic of “malice prepense” which would raise the death to murder, nor the completely accidental nature which would reduce it to homicide by misadventure. It was practically identical, therefore, with manslaughter.