Turning to some of the instances where the oaths of compurgators, or the wager of law, as known under the old procedure, was utilized to acquit the accused of charges, either in the ecclesiastical or lay courts of old England, we find, in the sixth century, that Pope Pelagius I., when confronted with charges that he was concerned in the troubles which drove his predecessor into exile, exculpated himself, by his oath, taken in the pulpit, while holding the crucifix above his head, denying any implication in the affairs that had resulted in the disgrace of his predecessor.[61] And when Gregory of Tours was arraigned for the use of words which seriously reflected upon Fredegonda, before a Council of Bishops, it was decided that he should acquit himself of the charge by oaths upon three separate altars, which in due time, the accused performed to the complete satisfaction of the Council.[62] In the dispute which arose, in 824, between Hubert, bishop of Worcester, and the abbot of Berkeley, in regard to the monastery of Westbury, the issue was settled by the oath of bishop Hubert, supported by fifty priests, ten deacons and a hundred and fifty other clerks and ecclesiastics.[63] Again, the bishop of Trent, when accused of simony, was ordered by Pope Innocent II. to clear himself with the oaths of two bishops and three abbots or monks, a course that was followed by the accused, to the complete satisfaction of his superiors in the church.[64] Compurgation was, indeed, for many centuries the common procedure whereby Churchmen, when accused of simony, or other irregularities, cleared themselves of the charges filed against them, and it seemed almost invariably an easy task to find other brothers of the order willing to stand by the accused and render him the assistance of an oath in the belief of his innocence, perhaps because of the frequency of such charges and the uncertainty of the future and that necessity might place the compurgators in a position where they might desire the reciprocal service, rendered to their unfortunate companion.[65] In the thirteenth century the earl of Warenne, or his men, slew Alan de la Zouche, in Westminster Hall, in the presence of the king’s justices. He was allowed to escape with his compurgators’ aid, according to the rule then obtaining, by his own oath, supported by the oaths of twenty-five knights, that the deed was not done with malice aforethought, or in contempt of the king, but under the heat of passion and under such circumstances as to reduce the offense to simple manslaughter.[66] In the Bedfordshire eyre, of the year 1202, in a prosecution under the statute for selling beer under a false measure, the defendant when placed upon her trial, claimed the right of compurgation and was ordered to defend herself “twelve handed” and she met the demand of the court by the offer of her compurgators.[67]