Tribal Custom in Anglo-Saxon Law: Being an Essay Supplemental to (1) 'The English Village Community', (2) 'The Tribal System in Wales'Seebohm, Frederic
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Tribal Custom in Anglo-Saxon Law: Being an Essay Supplemental to (1) 'The English Village Community', (2) 'The Tribal System in Wales'
Seebohm, Frederic
Anglo-Saxons; Law, Anglo-Saxon; Law, Medieval; Tribes -- Great Britain
On the next 21st night from the payment of the halsfang the _manbot_ had
to be paid, and on the 21st night after that the _fightwite_, and on the
21st night again the first payment of the wergeld.
Et sic omnibus parentibus dominisque emendacionibus iniciatis
persolvantur reliquum were, intra terminum quem sapientes
instituunt.
Thus for all the _parentes_ and lords, amends being set agoing,
the rest of the wergeld shall be paid during a term to be fixed
by the wise men (_sapientes_).
Turning next to the case of persons twyhynde born--_cyrlisci vel
villani_--more details are given:--
After stating their wergeld to be four pounds, the clause proceeds:--
[Sidenote: Halsfang of the twyhynde class.]
Halsfange ejus sunt v marc. que faciunt xii sol. et vi den.: est
autem verbum Anglicum quod Latine sonat ‘apprehensio colli.’
Their halsfang is v marks which = 12_s._ 6_d._; and it is an
English word which in Latin means ‘_apprehensio colli_.’
There is evidently here an error. ‘V marc’ ought to be read 5 _mancuses_.
The mancus was 30_d._ or 2_s._ 6_d._ Norman money and the halsfang
therefore 150_d._ or 12_s._ 6_d._ Norman money, as stated in the
following clause.
[Sidenote: Manbot and fightwite and then wergeld.]
Si quis ad iv lib. persolvendus occidatur, et ad id res veniat,
ut precio natalis ejus componendus sit, primo debent reddi xii
sol. et vi den. et in wera numerari: reddantur vero patri, vel
filio, vel fratri, vel qui propinquior est de patre, si predictos
parentes non habeat: si omnes istos habeat, et ipsi dividant
inter se.
(6) If any one is killed to be paid for at 4_l._ and it comes to
pass that the price of his birth has to be paid, first should
be paid [the halsfang of] 12_s._ 6_d._ to be reckoned in the
wergeld, and this is paid to the _father or son, or brother_, or,
failing these, whoever is the _nearest of kin to the father_. If
he has all these, they divide it between them.
A die qua wera vadiata est in xxi diem, sine omni excusacione et
dilacione, debet halsfang reddi, sicut premisimus.…
On the 21st day from the giving of the pledge, without any excuse
or delay the halsfang should be paid, as we have said.…
Inde ad xxi diem reddatur ipsius manbota: tunc ad xxi diem
fuytwhita: inde ad xxi diem reddatur ipsius were frumgildum, i.
vii sol. et vi den. ad explecionem xx sol.
On the 21st day after that, is to be paid the _manbot_, then on
the 21st day the _fightwite_, and then on the 21st day must be
paid the _frumgeld_ of the wergeld, _i.e._ 7_s._ 6_d._, to the
completion of 20_s._
Thus we learn that in the case of the twy-hyndeman the halsfang of 12_s._
6_d._ and the frumgeld of 7_s._ 6_d._ make up the first 20_s._ of the
wergeld of four pounds. The clause proceeds:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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