This database presents evidence for oaths and vows from the Roman period and late antiquity in the Mediterranean area, including about 3000 references to oaths from Greek, Roman, Jewish and Christian texts of the period. This includes both oath and vow formulae as well as discussions of oaths which do not include such formulae, or commentaries on texts which speak of oaths. I currently do not include the texts themselves (or translations) for copyright reasons, but these may be added in the future.
The database includes source text details: author, work, reference, assumed religion of author, language and genre of the text, and the period or precise year of composition, and information about the oath or vow if such information exists: type (discussion, commentary, oath/vow formula); linguistic markers used, deities invoked, social information about the swearer and swearee (gender, age, status, citizenship, religion); and further information (sanctifying circumstances, discussion topics, Biblical passages mentioned, objects used, place and time features, gesture or body parts mentioned, and whether there is a curse as well). The database is modelled on the Nottingham database of oaths in archaic and ancient Greece, with some differences.
Feel free to use this database in your research and please cite if you do.
The database includes errors and is not comprehensive; in addition, many dates and other details are still missing. Please send me any corrections, additions, suggestions, or ideas for collaboration.