Our Legal Heritage | Page 9

her to the family of the husband. If the
husband died and his kindred did not accept the terms sanctioned by
law, her kindred could repurchase the rightful protection.]
76. If a man carry off a widow not under his own protection by right,

let the mund be twofold.
77. If a man buy a maiden with cattle, let the bargain stand, if it be
without fraud; but if there be fraud, let him bring her home again, and
let his property be restored to him.
78. If she bear a live child, she shall have half the property, if the
husband die first.
79. If she wish to go away with her children, she shall have half the
property.
80. If the husband wish to keep them [the children], [she shall have the
same portion] as one child.
81. If she bear no child, her paternal kindred shall have the fioh [her
goods]and the morgen-gyfe [morning gift; a gift make to the bride by
her husband on the morning following the consummation of the
marriage].
82. If a man carry off a maiden by force, let him pay 50 shillings to the
owner, and afterwards buy [the object of] his will from the owner.
83. If she be betrothed to another man in money [at a bride price], let
him [who carried her off] make bot with 20 shillings.
84. If she become gaengang, 35 shillings; and 15 shillings to the King.
85. If a man lie with an esne's wife, her husband still living, let him
make twofold bot.
86. If one esne slay another unoffending, let him pay for him at his full
worth.
87. If an esne's eye and foot be struck out or off, let him be paid for at
his full worth.
88. If any one bind another man's esne, let him make bot with 6
shillings.

89. Let [compensation for] weg-reaf [highway robbery] of a theow
[slave] be 3 shillings.
90. If a theow [a type of slave] steal, let him make twofold bot [twice
the value of the stolen goods]. "
Judicial Procedure
If a man did something wrong, his case would be heard by the King
and his freemen. His punishment would be given to him by the
community.
There were occasional meetings of "hundreds", which were probably a
hundred hides of land or a hundred extended families, to settle
wide-spread disputes.
Chapter 2
The Times: 600-900
A community was usually an extended family. It's members lived in
villages in which a stone church was the most prominent building.
They lived in one-room huts with walls and roofs made of wood, mud,
and straw. Hangings covered the cracks in the walls to keep the wind
out. Smoke from a fire in the middle of the room filtered out of cracks
in the roof. Grain was ground at home by rotating by hand one stone
disk on another stone disk. Some villages had a mill powered by the
flow of water or by horses.
Farmland surrounded the villages and was farmed by the community as
a whole under the direction of a lord. There was silver, copper, iron, tin,
gold, and various types of stones from remote lead mines and quarries
in the nation. Silver pennies replaced the smaller scaetts. Freemen paid
"scot and lot" according to their means.
Everyone in the village went to church on Sunday and brought gifts
such as grain to the priest. Later, contributions in the form of money
became customary, and then expected. They were called "tithes" and

were spent for church repair, the clergy, and poor and needy laborers.
The parish of the priest was coextensive with the holding of one
landlord and was his chaplain. The priest and other men who helped
him, lived in the church building. Some churches had lead roofs and
iron hinges, latches, and locks on their doors. The land underneath had
been given to the church by former Kings and persons who wanted the
church to say prayers to help their souls go from purgatory to heaven
and who also selected the first priest. The priest conducted
Christianized Easter ceremonies in the spring and Christmas (Christ's
mass) ceremonies in winter in place of the pagan Yuletide festivities.
Incense took the place of pagan burnt offerings, holy water of haunted
wells and streams, and Christian incantations of sorcerer's spells.
The church baptized babies and officiated at marriage ceremonies. It
also said prayers for the dying, gave them funerals, and buried them.
There were burial service fees, candle dues, and plough alms. A piece
of stone with the dead person's name marked his grave. It was thought
that putting the name on the grave would assist identification of that
person for being taken to heaven. The church heard the last wish or will
of