Yes, they did, at least some of the time. See the treaty of Charles
the Simple and Henry I at Bonn in 921 (text, which gives the wording
of the oath including specific reference to relics, is in MGH
Constitutiones, vol. 1, part 1 [ed. ?L. Weiland in ?1893], no. 1,
pp.1-2). In addition have a look at Gerd Althoff's Spielregeln im
Mittelalter (Darmstadt 1997) and for general background his book
Amicitiae und Pacta (Hanover 1992).
Julia Barrow
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 08:43:18 -0700
Subject: German oaths
From: [log in to unmask] (Phyllis Jestice)
To: [log in to unmask]
Reply-to: [log in to unmask]
Hello, folks. Are there any Germanists out there? Can anybody tell me
whether medieval Germans swore oaths on the relics of saints? It seems
fairly clear that they didn't by the time of the Reformation (but who did
swear oaths on relics that late anyway?), but what about during the more
hagiocentric centuries? It's been argued that Germans never did swear
oaths on saints, but the argument is based mostly on evidence of the Peace
of God movement, which never really took off in Germany anyway, and just
doesn't seem to have enough evidence extant to make a case either way.
Any help would be deeply appreciated. I'm being driven mad trying to
argue with an emeritus professor with absolute self-confidence, a very
flexible notion of chronology, and main training as a modernist.
Phyllis
Phyllis G. Jestice
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