He who seeks composition for a homicide shall swear on saints’ relics that he will not summon in this matter other than those who are suspected by him of the actual homicide: and then he shall summon for the homicide one or two, or even three or four, or however many there be who have wounded him who was slain. But though there were twenty, or even thirty, yet not more than seven are to be summoned, and each of those summoned shall swear with eleven others, and shall, after the oath has been tested by the judgment of God, show himself innocent by the (ordeal of) boiling water. He who swears first shall go to the ordeal first, and the rest in order. He who shall be found guilty in the ordeal shall pay the composition for the homicide, and to the king twice his own wergeld: the rest of his co-swearers shall be treated as above concerning perjurers. Between the Laubach and the Weser the following was the custom:-- He who seeks composition for homicide shall summon one man, declaring him to be the homicide of his kinsman, and saying that he ought to pay the ‘leud’ of the slain man. And if he, in reply, says that he is willing to purge himself on oath with his co-swearers, let him who has summoned him as homicide say that he wishes to summon him _in placito publico_, and let him so do. Let him summon him _in placito_ before judges, and let him who is summoned, if he cannot deny, show another defendant for the homicide of which he is accused. And this ought to be done thus: Let him produce the man he wishes, and let him swear “he is guilty of the homicide for which I am summoned,” holding him by the hem of his cloak. But if he wishes to deny this oath let him swear and go forth to wager of battle against him. And whichever of them in that battle is conquered (_et sibi concrediderit_) shall pay the ‘leud’ of the slain. But if he be slain his next heir shall pay the composition of the homicide. But in this battle it is lawful for either to pay a champion for himself if he can find one. If the hired champion is slain, let him who hired him pay sixty _solidi_ (_i.e._ _three libræ_) to the king, and over and above pay the ‘leud’ of the slain man. [Sidenote: Wergelds stated in silver.] The payment of _sixty solidi_--_i.e._ _three libræ_--clearly indicates that the solidus of this clause was the Frankish silver solidus of 12_d._, of which 20 made the pound of silver. And this helps us to understand that the compositions described in the immediately succeeding and closely connected clause are also silver values. (Tit. XV.) This is the custom in the same region observed for the composition of wergeld:-- (1) Composition of a _nobilis homo_ } ‘per denarios veteres’ } 11 lbs. (2) Composition of the _liber_ ‘per } denarios veteres’ } 5½ lbs.