Legal Definitions - gager del ley

Definition: Gager del ley, also known as wager of law, is a historical method of proof in which a person defends against a claim by swearing that the claim is groundless. The defendant also enlists others, called compurgators, to swear to their credibility.

Example: In medieval England, if someone was accused of a crime, they could use the wager of law to defend themselves. They would swear an oath that they were innocent, and then they would gather a group of compurgators who would also swear that the accused was telling the truth. If enough people swore to the defendant's credibility, they would be found not guilty.

This example illustrates how the wager of law worked in practice. It was a way for people to defend themselves against false accusations, and it relied on the testimony of multiple witnesses to establish the defendant's innocence.