The idea of appealing to witnesses was a much older institution than, for example, ordeals. Mostly the oath persisted because it had strong cultural roots coming from the Roman world, which was the cultural predecessor of the Byzantine Empire. Why did the oath persist despite potential replacements? It’s interesting that objections that arose to oaths mostly focused on the means or witnesses used, not the act itself. Using the oath to buy groceries shows that even in small transactions, people needed the means to confirm trust. In a formal environment, people would usually raise their hand or touch the Gospels, or the relics of saints and holy people, or any other holy and sacred item, typically a cross. The formal way involved various rituals, many of which we don’t know a lot about, but mostly an appeal to divine powers was deemed necessary. On an informal level, it was like what we do today: saying, I swear to my faith or whatever. Q&A with Savvas Kyriakidis How would you use an oath in Byzantium-for instance, when buying groceries?Īn oath was supposed to give social confidence between individuals and between individuals and institutions. His research report, “Oath-Taking and Oath-Breaking in Byzantium (13th–14th Centuries),” investigated oath-taking, the concept of honor in Byzantium, and the use of the oath as an instrument of subversive activities and duplicity. Savvas Kyriakidis, a research fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in Sofia, Bulgaria, was a recent fellow in Byzantine Studies. Breaking Your Oath - Dumbarton Oaks Skip to Content Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection Menu
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