By
Christopher A. Rogers
“I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”
Binding oaths
Providing social stability
Oaths bound people together to create social stability and were kept through the fear of the gods, legal penalties and one’s own sense of honor.
Ordeals – a physical test where God will quickly determine the verdict
Compurgation – Swearing oaths with oath-helpers who swore to a litigant’s innocence
Guilt determined by the gods, not the peopleEventual punishment by the gods
Aistulf, King of the Lombards (r. 749-756), smited by God for breaking his oath to Pippin the Short
Sworn on sacred itemsChristians: relic, bible, crossPagans: weapons, ships
Sworn in the name of the gods
Self-curse
Precise wording
Beowulf – bound himself, through oath, to defeat Grendel and defend Hrothgar’s kingdom
Oaths of fealty, brotherhood, friendship
Bound people to a course of actionCreated artificial support groups
1-fold, 3-fold, 6-fold, 12-fold6-fold oath = litigant + 5 oath-helpers
(compurgators)
More serious crimes needed more compurgators
Serious crimes threatened the stability of society
Swore not to the truth, but to the belief in innocenceShow of support for the litigant by his support
groups
Temporal punishment needed the will of the peopleDelegated judgment to the godsPrevented the outbreak of blood feud
Physical survival depended on people working together
Oath-breaking – breaking an oath
Perjury – knowingly swearing a false oathThreatened the stability of societyDisdained the fear of gods
Real belief that the gods would enforce the terms of the oathFear of divine punishment
How well they were known
Currency of medieval life
All strove to gain more and often dictated actions
Perjury and oath-breaking caused great dishonor
Fines for minor oaths broken/perjured
Lesser/major outlawry for major oaths broken/perjuredProperty forfeited, death could not be avenged
No longer eligible to clear their name through oaths, must use ordeals
Oaths created stabilityThrough bonds and creation of support groupsEnforced through legal codes, sense of honor
and fear of the gods
Compurgation lessened as states became centralized
Oaths still integral to modern society
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