Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776Reilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
premeditated assault; robbery; stretbreche [destroying a road by
closing it off or diverting it or digging it up]; unlawful
appropriation of the king's land or money; treasure-trove; wreck of the
sea; things cast up by the sea; rape; abduction; forests; the reliefs
of barons; fighting in the king's dwelling or household; breach of the
peace in the king's troop; failure to perform burgbot [a contribution
to the repair of castles or walls of defense, or of a borough]; or
brigbot [a tribute or contribution to the repair of bridges]; or
firdfare [a summoning forth to a military expedition]; receiving and
maintaining an excommunicated person or an outlaw; violation of the
king's protection; flight in a military or naval battle; false
judgment; failure of justice; violation of the king's law."
"Some pleas cannot be compensated for with money; these are: husbreche
[housebreaking or burglary], arson, manifest theft, palpable murder,
treachery towards one's lord, and violation of the peace of the church
or the protection of the king through the commission of homicide."
"Compensation is effected by the payment of one hundred shillings for
the following: grithbreche [breach of the peace], stretbreche,
forestel, violation of the king's protection, hamsocn, and flymenfyrm."
Hamsocn is an attack on a house and occurs if anyone assaults another
in his own house or the house of someone else with a band of men or
pursues him so that he hits the door or the house with arrows or stones
or produces a perceptible blow from any source. It also is committed if
anyone goes with premeditation to a house where he knows his enemy to
be and attacks him there, whether he does this by day or by night. It
also occurs if anyone pursues a person fleeing into a mill or
sheephold. If in a court of house dissension has arisen and fighting
follows as well, and someone pursues another person fleeing into the
other house, it shall be considered hamsocn if there are two roofs
there.
The following place a man in the king's mercy: breach of his peace
which he gives to anyone by his own hand; contempt of his writs and
anything which slanders injuriously his own person or his commands;
causing the death of his servants in a town or fortress or anywhere
else; breach of fealty and treason; contempt of him; construction of
fortifications without permission; the incurring of outlawry (anyone
who suffers this shall fall into the king's hand, and if he has any
bocland [lands held by deed or other written evidence of title];
manifest theft punishable by death."
If any Englishman is slain without fault on his part, compensation
shall be paid to his relatives according to this wergeld. Wite and
manbot shall be paid to the appropriate lords in accordance with the
amount of the wergeld. Where a wergeld of 200s. is payable, then 30s.
must be paid as manbot, which equals 5 mancuses; where the wergeld is
1200s., that is, for a thegn, the manbot is 120s, which amounts to 20
mancuses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account