noun
- a medieval legal procedure in which an accused person could clear themselves of charges by having others swear to their innocence or good character
Usage: historical; legal
Examples
- Under the system of compurgation, the defendant needed twelve oath-helpers to swear to his innocence.
- Medieval courts often relied on compurgation rather than physical evidence.
- The practice of compurgation was gradually replaced by trial by jury.
- Compurgation required the accused to find people willing to vouch for their character.
- The Anglo-Saxon legal system made extensive use of compurgation in criminal cases.
- By the thirteenth century, compurgation was becoming less common in English courts.