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wergeld
wergeld was the fixed amount, or blood-price, payable by a killer and his kin to his victim's kinsmen. A man's kin was obliged to seek vengeance for his untimely death, but payment of wergeld was an alternative to blood-feud, and a means of keeping order in a violent society. The amount of wergeld was also an important mark of social status. In the earliest written Anglo-Saxon law code, a nobleman's wergeld was 300 shillings, three times that of a ceorl.
Audrey MacDonald |
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "wergeld." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "wergeld." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-wergeld.html JOHN CANNON. "wergeld." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-wergeld.html |
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wergeld
wergeld was the fixed amount, or blood‐price, payable by a killer and his kin to his victim's kinsmen. A man's kin was obliged to seek vengeance for his untimely death, but payment of wergeld was an alternative to blood‐feud, and a means of keeping order in a violent society. The amount of wergeld was also an important mark of social status.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "wergeld." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "wergeld." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-wergeld.html JOHN CANNON. "wergeld." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-wergeld.html |
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wergeld
wergeld, wergild (hist.) price set upon a man according to rank. OE. wergeld, WS. -ġild, f. wer man (= L. vir) + ġield YIELD. The OE. forms were taken up by antiquaries in XVII.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "wergeld." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "wergeld." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wergeld.html T. F. HOAD. "wergeld." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wergeld.html |
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wergeld
wergeld in Germanic and Anglo-Saxon law, the price put on a man according to his rank, payable as a fine or compensation by a person guilty of homicide or certain other crimes.
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wergeld." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wergeld." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-wergeld.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wergeld." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-wergeld.html |
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