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
15s.; both bones in the arm broken 30s.; arm cut off below the elbow
80s.; wound in the belly 30s.; pierced through the belly 20s. for each
opening; a thigh pierced or broken 30s.; shin struck off below the knee
80s.; the shin broken 30s.; shin pierced below the knee 12s.; broken
shinbone 12s.; wound in the genitals so that there is loss of the
capacity to procreate 80s.; loins maimed 60s.; loins pierced through
30s.; loins punctured 15s.; injury to the great sinews of another's
lower leg if they recover through response to medical treatment 12s.;
injury to the sinews which cauces lameness 30s.; injury to the small
sinews 6s.; striking a blow without causing blood to flow 5d. for each
blow up to a total of three blows, no matter how many blows are
actually struck, for a total of 15d.; knocking out first teeth or
incisors 8s.; canines or `cheek' teeth 4s.; molars 15s.; broken cheeks
15s.; a thumb cut off 30s.; a thumbnail cut off 5s.; an index finger
15s; an index fingernail 3s.; a middle or `unchaste' finger 121s; a
middle fingernail 2s.; a ring finger or `medical' finger 17s.; a ring
fingernail 4s.; an `ear' finger 9s.; an `ear' fingernail 1s., that is
5d.; the big toe cut off 20s.; the second toe 15s.; the third toe 9s.;
the fourth toe 6s., the fifth toe 5s.; "If anyone suffers a wound, not
involving the cutting off or maiming or breaking of a limb, on an
uncovered and visible place (for example, in front of the hair or below
the sleeve or beneath the knees), the compensation to be paid shall be
double what would be due in the case of a wound inflicted on the head
under the hair or on the limbs beneath the clothes, that is, on a
concealed place."
"Anyone who commits a theft, who betrays his lord, who deserts him in
a hostile encounter or military engagement, who is defeated in trial by
battle or who commits a breach of the feudal bond shall forfeit his
land."
In the case of stolen property worth more than 30d., the accused shall
choose which of the two he wishes, either the simple ordeal or an oath
of the value of one pound with oath helpers taken from three hundreds.
"If anyone dares to dig up or despoil, in scandalous and criminal
fashion, a body buried in the ground or in a coffin or a rock or a
pyramid or any structure, he shall be regarded as an outlaw."
"If a person condemned to death wishes to confess, it shall never be
refused him."
"If anyone who is a father dies and leaves as son or daughter to
inherit, they shall not maintain an action or submit to a court
judgment before reaching fifteen years of age; but they shall remain
seised, under guardians and trustees in the lawful custody of their
relatives, just as their father was on the day when he was alive and
dead."
"If anyone dies without children, his father or mother shall succeed to
the inheritance, or his brother or sister, if neither father nor mother
is living." If he does not possess these relatives, then his father's
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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