The Law

The king and witan deliberated on the making of new laws, both secular and spiritual, at the regularly held witanagemot. There was a standard legal requirement of holding every man accountable, though expressed in different ways, such as the following three:

Every freeman who does not hold land must find a lord to answer for him. The act of homage was symbolized by holding his hands together between those of his lord. Every lord shall be personally responsible as surety for the men of his household. [This included female lords.] (King Athelstan)

"And every man shall see that he has a surety, and this surety shall bring and keep him to [the performance of] every lawful duty.

And if anyone does wrong and escapes, his surety shall incur what the other should have incurred. If the case be that of a thief and his surety can lay hold of him within twelve months, he shall deliver him up to justice, and what he has paid shall be returned to him." (King Edgar)

Every freeman who holds land, except lords with considerable landed property, must be in a local tithing, usually ten to twelve men, in which they serve as personal sureties for each other's peaceful behavior. If one of the ten landholders in a tithing is accused of an offense, the others have to produce him in court or pay a fine plus pay the injured party for the offense, unless they could prove that they had no complicity in it. If the man is found guilty but can not pay, his tithing must pay his fine. The chief officer is the "tithing man" or "capital pledge". There were probably ten tithings in a hundred. (King Edward the Confessor).

Everyone was to take an oath not to steal, which one's surety would compel one to keep.

No one may receive another lord's man without the permission of this lord and only if the man is blameless towards every hand. The penalty is the bot for disobedience. No lord was to dismiss any of his men who had been accused, until he had made compensation and done right.

"No woman or maiden shall be forced to marry a man she dislikes or given for money."

"Violence to a widow or maiden is punishable by payment of one's wergeld."

No man may have more wives than one.

No man may marry among his own kin within six degrees of relationship or with the widow of a man as nearly related to him as that, or with a near relative of his first wife's, or his god-mother, or a divorced woman. Incest is punishable by payment of one's wergeld or a fine or forfeiture of all his possessions.

Grounds for divorce were mutual consent or adultery or desertion. Adultery was prohibited for men as well as for women. The penalty was payment of a bot or denial of burial in consecrated ground. A law of Canute provided that if a wife was guilty of adultery, she forfeited all her property to her husband and her nose and ears, but this law did not survive him.

Laymen may marry a second time, and a young widow may again take a husband, but they will not receive a blessing and must do penance for their incontinence.

Prostitutes were to be driven out of the land or destroyed in the land, unless they cease from their wickedness and make amends to the utmost of their ability.

Neither husband nor wife could sell family property without the other's consent.

If there was a marriage agreement, it determined the wife's "dower", which would be hers upon his death. Otherwise, if a man who held his land in socage [owned it freely and not subject to a larger landholder] died before his wife, she got half this property. If there were minor children, she received all this property.

Inheritance of land to adult children was by the custom of the land held. In some places, the custom was for the oldest son to take it and in other places, the custom was for the youngest son to take it. Usually, the sons each took an equal portion by partition, but the eldest son had the right to buy out the others as to the chief messuage [manor; dwelling and supporting land and buildings] as long as he compensated them with property of equal value. If there were no legitimate sons, then each daughter took an equal share when she married.

In London, one-third of the personal property of a decedent went to his wife, one-third went to his children in equal shares, and one-third he could bequeath as he wished.

"If a man dies intestate [without a will], his lord shall have heriot [horses, weapons, shields, and helmets] of his property according to the deceased's rank and [the rest of] the property shall be divided among his wife, children, and near kinsmen."

A man could justifiably kill an adulterer in the act with the man's wife, daughter, sister, or mother. In Kent, a lord could fine any bondswoman of his who had become pregnant without his permission [childwyte].

A man could kill in defense of his own life, the life of his kinsmen, his lord, or a man whose lord he was. The offender was "caught red-handed" if the blood of his victim was still on him. Self-help was available for hamsocne [breaking into a man's house to assault him].

Murder is punished by death as follows: "If any man break the King's peace given by hand or seal, so that he slay the man to whom the peace was given, both his life and lands shall be in the King's power if he be taken, and if he cannot be taken he shall be held an outlaw by all, and if anyone shall be able to slay him he shall have his spoils by law." The king's peace usually extended to important designated individuals, churches, assemblies, those traveling to courts or assemblies, and particular times and places. Often a king would extend his peace to fugitives from violent feuds if they asked the king, earls, and bishops for time to pay compensation for their misdeeds. From this came the practice of giving a portion of the "profits of justice" to such men who tried the fugitive. The king's peace came to be extended to those most vulnerable to violence: foreigners, strangers, and kinless persons.

"If anyone by force break or enter any man's court or house to slay or wound or assault a man, he shall pay 100s. to the King as fine."

"If anyone slay a man within his court or his house, himself and all his substance are at the King's will, save the dower of his wife if he have endowed her."

If a person fights and wounds anyone, he is liable for his wer. If he fells a man to death, he is then an outlaw and is to be seized by raising the hue and cry. And if anyone kills him for resisting God's law or the king's, there will be no compensation for his death.

A man could kill a thief over twelve years in the act of carrying off his property over 8d., e.g. the thief hand-habbende [a thief found with the stolen goods in his hand] or the thief back-berend [a thief found carrying stolen goods on his back].

Cattle theft could be dealt with only by speedy pursuit. A person who had involuntarily lost possession of cattle is to at once raise the hue and cry. He was to inform the hundredman, who then called the tithingmen. All these neighbors had to then follow the trail of the cow to its taker, or pay 30d. to the hundred for the first offense, and 60d. for the second offense, half to the hundred and half to the lord, and half a pound [10s.] for the third offense, and forfeiture of all his property and declared outlaw for the fourth offense. If the hundred pursued a track into another hundred, notice was to be given to that hundredman. If he did not go with them, he had to pay 30s. to the king.

If a thief was brought into prison, he was to be released after 40 days if he paid his fine of 120s. His kindred could become his sureties, to pay according to his wer if he stole again. If a thief forfeited his freedom and gave himself up, but his kindred forsook him, and he does not know of anyone who will make bot for him; let him then do theow-work, and let the wer abate for the kindred.

Measures and weights of goods for sale shall be correct.

Every man shall have a warrantor to his market transactions and no one shall buy and sell except in a market town; but he shall have the witness of the portreeve or of other men of credit, who can be trusted.

Moneyers accused of minting money outside a designated market were to go to the ordeal of the hot iron with the hand that was accused of doing the fraud. If he was found guilty, his hand that did the offense was to be struck off and be set up on the money-smithy.

No marketing, business, or hunting may be done on Sundays.

No one may bind a freeman, shave his head in derision, or shave off his beard. Shaving was a sign of enslavement, which could be incurred by not paying one's fines for offenses committed.

No clergy may gamble or participate in games of chance.

The Laws for London were:

1. "The gates called Aldersgate and Cripplegate were in charge of guards.

2. If a small ship came to Billingsgate, one halfpenny was paid as toll; if a larger ship with sails, one penny was paid.

1) If a hulk or merchantman arrives and lies there, four pence is paid as toll.

2) From a ship with a cargo of planks, one plank is given as toll.

3) On three days of the week toll for cloth [is paid] on Sunday and Tuesday and Thursday.

4) A merchant who came to the bridge with a boat containing fish paid one halfpenny as toll, and for a larger ship one penny."

5 - 8) Foreigners with wine or blubber fish or other goods and their tolls.

Foreigners were allowed to buy wool, melted sheep fat [tallow], and three live pigs for their ships.

3. "If the town reeve or the village reeve or any other official accuses anyone of having withheld toll, and the man replies that he has kept back no toll which it was his legal duty to pay, he shall swear to this with six others and shall be quit of the charge.

1) If he declares that he has paid toll, he shall produce the man to whom he paid it, and shall be quit of the charge.

2) If, however, he cannot produce the man to whom he paid it, he shall pay the actual toll and as much again and five pounds to the King.

3) If he vouches the taxgatherer to warranty [asserting] that he paid toll to him, and the latter denies it, he shall clear himself by the ordeal and by no other means of proof.

4. And we [the king and his counselors] have decreed that a man who, within the town, makes forcible entry into another man's house without permission and commits a breach of the peace of the worst kind ... and he who assaults an innocent person on the King's highway, if he is slain, shall lie in an unhonored grave.

1) If, before demanding justice, he has recourse to violence, but does not lose his life thereby, he shall pay five pounds for breach of the King's peace.

2) If he values the goodwill of the town itself, he shall pay us thirty shillings as compensation, if the King will grant us this concession."

5. No base coin or coin defective in quality or weight, foreign or English, may be used by a foreigner or an Englishman. (In 956, a person found guilty of illicit coining was punished by loss of a hand.)