How much is a Weregild?
The weregild for a Welshman was 120 shillings if he owned at least one hide of land and was able to pay the king’s tribute. If he has only 1 hide and cannot pay the tribute, his wergild was 80 shillings and then 70 if he was landless yet free.
What does Botgeld mean?
• Botgeld – was compensation payable for. injuries and the rates varied depending on. person injured. • Wergeld – was compensation payable to a. persons family if they were killed or murdered.
What does wergild mean in history?
wergild, also spelled Wergeld, or Weregild, (Old English: “man payment”), in ancient Germanic law, the amount of compensation paid by a person committing an offense to the injured party or, in case of death, to his family. Other fines, particularly among the Anglo-Saxons and early Franks, were related to wergild.
What was the wergild fine?
The Saxons relied heavily on a system of fines called wergild. Wergild was compensation paid to the victims of crime or to their families. The level of fine was carefully worked out and set through the king’s laws. Wergild, unlike blood feud, was not about retribution and so made further violence less likely.
What was the worst Anglo-Saxon punishment?
The Anglo-Saxons didn’t have prisons. Most people found guilty of crimes were punished with fines. Some crimes, such as treason against the king or betraying your lord, were thought to be so serious that they carried the death penalty.
What was a women’s Wergild?
According to Alfred 9, a pregnant woman was protected by two wergilds: her own and half that of her unborn child. Parallels with continental law suggest that this may go back to common Germanic tradition, despite not appearing in English law until the late ninth century.
What are examples of Wergild?
money paid to the relatives of a murder victim in compensation for loss and to prevent a blood feud. the amount of money fixed as compensation for the murder or disablement of a person, computed on the basis of rank.
What was a blood feud Anglo-Saxon?
Avenging the WRONGFUL DEATH of a person’s kin by killing the murderer or by receiving compensation from the murderer’s possessions. There is dispute over whether the blood feud was legal under Teutonic or Anglo-Saxon law. …
What is the meaning of the word weregild?
The word weregild is composed of were, meaning “man”, and geld, meaning “payment or fee”, as in Danegeld.
What is wergild Saxon?
What is Wergild Saxon? Wergild, also spelled Wergeld, or Weregild, (Old English: “man payment”), in ancient Germanic law, the amount of compensation paid by a person committing an offense to the injured party or, in case of death, to his family. The wergild was at first informal but was later regulated by law.
What is the origin of the word gild?
Look up were-, geld, or gild in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. The word weregild is composed of were, meaning “man”, and geld, meaning “payment or fee”, as in Danegeld. Geld or Jeld was the Old English and Old Frisian word for money, and still is in Dutch, Frisian, German and Afrikaans. The Danish word gæld and Norwegian gjeld both mean “debt”.
What does wergild mean in law?
Wergild, also spelled Wergeld, or Weregild, (Old English: “man payment”), in ancient Germanic law, the amount of compensation paid by a person committing an offense to the injured party or, in case of death, to his family. The wergild was at first informal but was later regulated by law.