Abjuration

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Abjuration is the solemn repudiation, abandonment, or renunciation by or upon oath, often the renunciation of citizenship or some other right or privilege. It comes from the Latin abjurare, "to forswear").

Abjuration of the realm was a type of abjuration in ancient English law that was a renunciation of citizenship, a type of self-imposed exile. The person taking the oath swore never to return to the kingdom unless by permission. This was often taken by fugitives who had taken sanctuary:

I swear on the Holy Book that I will leave the realm of England and never return without the express permission of my Lord the King or his heirs. I will hasten by the direct road to the port allotted to me and not leave the King's highway under pain of arrest or execution. I will not stay at one place more than one night and will seek diligently for a passage across the sea as soon as I arrive, delaying only one tide if possible. If I cannot secure such passage, I will walk into the sea up to my knees every day as a token of my desire to cross. And if I fail in all this, then peril shall be my lot.

In England, an oath of abjuration was taken by members of Parliament, clergy, and laymen, pledging to support the current British monarch and repudiated the right of the Stuarts and other pretenders to the throne. This oath was imposed under William III, George I and George III. It was superseded by the oath of allegiance.

Another famous oath of abjuration was Plakkaat van Verlatinghe of July 26, 1581, the formal declaration of independence of the northern Low Countries from the Spanish king, Philip II. This oath was the climax of the Eighty Years' War (Dutch Revolt).

[edit] Sources

  • Black, Henry Campbell, and Bryan A. Garner (editors). Black's Law Dictionary (7th edition). West: 1999. ISBN 0-314-22864-0.
  • Knight, Bernard. "Crowner Part 4: The Right of Sanctuary."[1]
  • Meehan, Andrew B. "Abjuration." The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1907. [2]
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