1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Abjuration

ABJURATION (from Lat. abjurare, to forswear), a solemn repudiation or renunciation on oath. At common law, it signified the oath of a person who had taken sanctuary to leave the realm for ever; this was abolished in the reign of James I. The Oath of Abjuration, in English history, was a solemn disclaimer, taken by members of parliament, clergy and laymen against the right of the Stuarts to the crown, imposed by laws of William III., George I. and George III.; but its place has since been taken by the oath of allegiance.