Taking the Oath

06 October 1906
From the increased attention to hygiene which is now very generally adopted, comes a movement against the time-honoured custom of “kissing the book” which is at present universally followed by witnesses in police or law courts.

In a line with many other Justices’ Clerks, Mr. John Fardell, who holds that position in connection with the Borough and County Justices, has lately drawn the attention of the public by a printed notice displayed in his Courts that they can if they so desire, be sworn in the manner adopted by the Scottish Courts.

The oath is then administered to the witnesses standing with uplifted hand and so the practice of kissing the Testament is disposed with altogether.

 Note:
Oxford Academic Abstract – Until the nineteenth century, it was the law in England to swear the truth of evidence by kissing the Bible. This practice long outlasted a Protestant suspicion that it was based on superstition. People kiss books still today. What is the metaphysical relationship so intended? The chapter explores the place of the book in the cult of the saints from the late antique period onwards. It also examines the physical make-up of books in Christianity, in calligraphy, in bindings, and in boxes called ‘book shrines’.

Sources: IW Observer and Oxford Academic
Image: Roy Brinton Collection
Article: Ann Barrett