The oath on the Bible stored in Justinian's law

The pagan Romans, like other ancient peoples, placed great importance on the oath. This significant role of oath-taking persisted even after the triumph of Christianity, both in private and public spheres. The act of the oath now took on a Christian character, which found its formal expression in t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pál Sáry
Format: Article
Language:German
Published: STS Science Centre Ltd. 2011-01-01
Series:Journal on European History of Law
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.journaloneuropeanhistoryoflaw.eu/index.php/JEHL/article/view/305
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Summary:The pagan Romans, like other ancient peoples, placed great importance on the oath. This significant role of oath-taking persisted even after the triumph of Christianity, both in private and public spheres. The act of the oath now took on a Christian character, which found its formal expression in the use of the Bible. The constitutions of Emperor Justinian provide many references to the use of oaths sworn on the Bible. These decrees clearly show that this symbolic legal act, despite its Christian form, in many respects still bore similarities to the old pagan oath formulas and was widely applied.
ISSN:2042-6402
3049-9089