Legal Definitions - oath-helper

Definition: An oath-helper, also known as a compurgator, is a person who appears in court and makes an oath in support of a civil or criminal defendant.

Example: In medieval times, if someone was accused of a crime, they could ask their friends or family members to be their oath-helpers. These oath-helpers would swear under oath that the accused person was innocent. The more oath-helpers a person had, the more likely they were to be found innocent.

Explanation: The example illustrates how an oath-helper would support a defendant in court by swearing under oath that they were innocent. This was a common practice in medieval times and was used to determine the outcome of a trial. The more oath-helpers a person had, the more likely they were to be found innocent, as it was believed that multiple people swearing under oath was more reliable than just one person's word.