How did an oath and a surrendered staff create a debt obligation?

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Germanic law Euric, statue in the Plaza de Oriente, Madrid.

In the context of Germanic law, a debt obligation was established through a formal process known as effestucatio. This practice involved a debtor providing a formal oath to guarantee the debt, which was accompanied by the symbolic surrendering of a staff to the creditor.1

This act served as a legal mechanism to constitute a contractual obligation. Once this ritual was performed, the agreement was legally binding and could be enforced through an action for perjury if the oath was broken.1