[Lat. corporale sacramentum.] An oath taken by laying hand on the gospels, as by actual contact of the person. 3 Inst. c. 74. Cowell, voc. Oath. Tacto per se sancto evangelio; having personally touched the holy gospel. Cro. Eliz. 105. The oath of proctors and advocates, in the English consistory courts, is in the following words: Ego, A. B. ad ista sancta Dei evangelia per me corporaliter tacta juro, quod, &c.; I, A. B., on these holy gospels of God, by me corporally touched, do swear, that, &c. Hallifax, Anal. Appendix, No. vi. In the case of Jackson v. The State, (1 Indiana, Carter's, R. 184,) it was decided that the term " corporal oath" did not necessarily import an oath taken on the gospels, but that it was merely a synonyme of "solemn oath;" and that an oath taken with the uplifted hand might be properly described by either term. The court considered the objection that an oath taken in the latter form was not a corporal oath, to be hypercritical, and observed that "however it may have been in somewhat olden time in Europe, we think that now, at least in our state, corporal oath and solemn oath are used synonymously." Id. 184. The court refer to and adopt the definition of corporal oath given by Webster:-"a solemn oath, so called from the ancient usage of touching the corporale or cloth that covered the consecrated elements." It may have been that oaths were sometimes, as in ecclesiastical cases, taken by touching the corporale, as described in the definition just quoted. But the true judicial oath appears to have been, from the earliest Christian period, uniformly taken by either holding or touching the holy gospels or evangelists; and the authorities clearly show that it was from this corporal touch, or actual contact of the body (corpus) of the person swearing with the book sworn by, that the oath derived its distinctive name. As early as the 8th Novel of Justinian, the form of an official oath, as prescribed by law, was in these words: "I swear by Almighty God, &c. and the four gospels which I hold in my hands, (å iv raïs xepcí pov xκpar@,) that I will,” &c. Nov. 8, ad fin. To this appears to have succeeded the form of touching, which is still in use. In Nov. 124, c. 1, prescribing an oath to be taken by parties to actions, it is declared that they shall swear by touching the holy evangelists, attoµérovs v ȧyiwv cvayyexiwr.. And in the Feudorum Libri, oaths were required to be made, tactis sacrosanctis scripturis, by touching the Holy Scriptures. Feud. Lib. 2, tit. 2. The actual corporal touch or physical contact of the body, appears to have always been indispensable to give validity to an oath taken on the Scriptures, as it uniformly is at the present day, even in this country. And an oath taken in any other form, although in every sense a solemn oath, can hardly be denominated a "corporal" oath, without departing from the radical and distinctive sense of the term.