COMPURGATOR. One of several neigh bors of a person accused of a crime or charg ed as a defendant in a civil action, who ap peared and swore that they believed him on his oath. 3 Bla. Com. 341.
Formerly, when a person was accused of a crime, or sued in some kinds of civil actions, he might purge himself upon oath of the accusation made against him, whenever the proof was not the most clear and positive ; and if upon his oath he declared himself innocent, he was absolved.
This usage, so eminently calculated to encourage perjury by impunity, was soon found to be danger ous to the public safety. To remove this evil, the laws were changed, by requiring that the oath should be administered with the greatest solemnity; but the form was soon disregartled, for the mind be came easily familiarized to those ceremonies which at first imposed on the imagination, and those who cared not to violate the truth did not hesitate to, treat the form with contempt. In order to give a greater weight to the oath of the accused, the law was again altered so as to require that the accused should appear before the judge with a cer tain number of his neighbors, who were freeholders of the hundred, who should swear that they believed the accused had sworn truly. This new species of
witnesses were called compurgators. If it was not his first offence or if his compurgators did not agree to make the oath, he was put to the ordeal (q. v.). The origin of the system lies back in the history of the Teuton race. It is said still to survive in the practice of the criminal courts by which an accused person is allowed to call witnesses as to his char acter, as a defence, while the prosecution is not al lowed to traverse their testimony. Inderwick, The King's Peace. See WAGER Or LAW.
The number of compurgators varied according to the nature of the charge and and other circum stances, and the rank of party—formerly, from two to five; later the practice was twelve. See 2 Holdsw. Hist. E. L. See Du Cange, Juramentum; Spelman, Gloss. Assarth; Termes de la Ley; 3 Bla. Com. 341-348. The last reported case is 2 B. & C. 538; see 2 Poll. & Maitl. 600.