Although under a Christian dispensation the king could no longer be considered as appertaining to a family exclusively divine, yet the old national tradition still aided in securing to him the highest personal position in the commonwealth. He had a wergyld indeed, but it far exceeded that of any other class: nor was it in this alone that his paramount dignity was recognized, but in the comparative amount of the fines levied for offences against himself, his dependents or his property. And as the principle of all Teutonic law is, that the amount of _bót_ or compensation shall vary directly with the dignity of the party leased, the high tariff appointed for royalty is evidence that the king really stood at the summit of the social order, and was the first in rank and honour, whatever he may have been in power. This is equally apparent in the earliest law, that of Æðelberht, as in Eádweard the Confessor’s, the latest. Thus, if he called his Leóde, _fideles_ or thanes, to him, and they were injured on the way, a compensation double the ordinary amount could be exacted, and in addition a fine of fifty shillings to the king[32]. And so likewise, if he honoured a subject by drinking at his house, all offences, then and there committed, were punishable by a double fine[33]. Theft from him bore a ninefold, from a ceorl or freeman only a threefold, compensation[34]. His mundbyrd or protection was valued at fifty shillings; that of an eorl and ceorl at twelve and six respectively[35]: this applied to the cases where a man slew another in the king’s tún, the eorl’s tún, or the ceorl’s edor[36]; and to the dishonour of his maiden-serf, which involved a fine of fifty shillings, while the eorl’s female cupbearer was protected only to the amount of twelve, the ceorl’s to that of six shillings[37]. His messenger or armourer, if by chance they were guilty of manslaughter, could only be sued for a mitigated wergyld, by which they, though probably unfree, were placed upon a footing of equality with the freeman[38]. His word, like that of a bishop, was to be incontrovertible, that is, no oath could be tendered to rebut it[39]. He that fought in the king’s hall, if taken in the act, was liable to the punishment of death, or such doom as the king should decree[40]: the king’s burhbryce, or violence done to his dwelling, was valued at 120 shillings, an archbishop’s at 90, a bishop’s or ealdorman’s at 60, a twelfhynde man’s at 30, a syxhynde’s at 15, but a ceorl’s or freeman’s only at 5; and these sums were to be doubled if the militia was on foot[41]. His borhbryce, or breach of surety, and his mundbyrd or protection were raised by Ælfred to five pounds, while the archbishop’s was valued at three, the bishop’s or ealdorman’s at two pounds[42]. He could give sanctuary to offenders for nine days[43], and peculiar privileges of the same kind were extended to those monasteries which were subject to his farm or _pastus_[44]. His geneát or comrade, if of