X.

BOOK thegns. The laws recognise these two descriptions. A king's thegn accused of homicide was to acquit himself of guilt by twelve king's thegns; a thegn of lessa maga, with eleven of his equals. The here-geat, or heriot of the king's thegn that was nearest to him, was two horses saddled, and two not saddled, two swords, four spears, shields, helms, and mails, and fifty mancus of gold. But the here-geat of a common thegn was but one horse, and his trapping and arms. By comparing these heriots, we may see how greatly superior the rank of the king's thegn was esteemed.

In

The inferior thegns appear to have been numerous. every borough, says a law, thirty-three thanes were chosen to witness. In small burghs, and to every hundred, twelve were to be selected.+

49

48

Thegns are twice mentioned in the laws as thegns born So. Perhaps the title was attached to their landed property, and descended with it. In the Domesday Survey, many lands are mentioned in several counties, which are called "Terra tainorum;" the land of the thegns.

If a thegn had a church in his boclande, with a place of burial, he was to give to the church one-third of his own tenths; if he had not a burial-place, he was to give what he chose out of the nine parts.5°

The king's thegn was the thegn of office. No one was to have any socne or jurisdiction over him but the king."

The thegn seems to have been a military noble. It is the Saxon word usually applied in those times to denote what the word miles signified.

We have learnt from Domesday-book, that for the tenure of five hides of land the owner was liable to the fyrd, or Saxon militia. We have also found, that the tenure of five hides of land was essential to the dignity of thegn. To be

king's thegn seems to have been a sort of feudal dignity, for which military service in the fyrd was imposed. The king's thegn is mentioned in the laws as attending in his expeditions, and as having a thegn under him."

The thegn was also a magistrate, and might lose his dignity. The laws declared, that if a judge decided unjustly, he should pay to the king one hundred and twenty shillings, unless he could swear that he knew no better; and he was to lose his thegn-scipe, unless he could afterwards buy it of the king."

They are thus mentioned by Edgar: "In every byrig, and "in every scire, I will have my kingly rights, as my father "had; and my thegns shall have their thegn-ship in my time, "as as they had in my father's." "+

His were was two thousand thrymsa." It is elsewhere stated as equal to that of six ceorls, or twelve hundred shillings. If a thief took refuge with a thegn, he was allowed three days' asylum."

The judicial magistracy of the thegns appears from their assisting at the shire-gemots. The Northmen had also a dignity of this sort, for thegns are mentioned in Snorre.

СНАР.

V.

THE

HISTORY

OF THE

ANGLO-SAXON S.

BOOK XI.

The History of the Laws of the Anglo-Saxons.

CHAP. I.

Homicide.

To

I.

O trace the principles on which the laws of various CHAP. nations have been formed, has been at all times an interesting object of intellectual exertion; and as the legislation of the more polished periods of states is much governed by its ancient institutions, it will be important to consider the principles on which our Anglo-Saxon forefathers framed their laws to punish public wrongs, and to redress civil injuries.

It will not be expected that we should give a complete commentary on the Saxon criminal law in that narrow compass within which we are obliged to confine each division of our present volume. But we will endeavour to trace the progress of the Saxon legislation in some of its more prominent fea tures, and in the principal offences. We shall select for this purpose homicide, personal injuries, theft, and adultery.

The principal of pecuniary punishment pervades the laws

BOOK

XI.

The

of the Anglo-Saxons, and of all the German nations. Whe-
ther it arose from the idea, that the punishment of crime.
should be attended with some benefit to the individual
injured, or his family, or his lord; or whether, in their fierce
dispositions and warring habits, death was less dreaded as an
evil than poverty; or whether the great were the authors of
most of the crimes committed, and it was easier to make
them responsible in their property than in their lives, we
cannot at this distant æra decide: but we will endeavour to
select a few of the principles by which the pecuniary com-
pensations and forfeitures appear to have been regulated.
The Saxons made many distinctions in HOMICIDES.
life of every man was protected, not by the penalty of his
murderer's death, but by the pecuniary exactions which were
to follow the homicide. All ranks of men were not, however,
esteemed of equal value in the eye of the Saxon law, nor their
lives equally worth protecting. The Saxons had therefore
established many nice distinctions in this respect. Our pre-
sent legislation considers the life of one man as sacred as that
of another, and will not admit the degree of the crime of
murder to depend on the rank or property of the deceased.
Hence a peasant is now as secured from wilful homicide as a
nobleman. It was otherwise among the Saxons.

The protection which every man received was a curious exhibition of legislative arithmetic. Every man was valued at a certain sum, which was called his were; and whoever took his life, was punished by having to pay this were.

The were was the compensation allotted to the family or relations of the deceased for the loss of his life. But the Saxons had so far advanced in legislation, as to consider homicide as a public as well as private wrong. Hence, besides the redress appointed to the family of the deceased, another pecuniary fine was imposed on the murderer, which was called the wite. This was the satisfaction to be rendered to the community for the public wrong which had been committed.