The Laws of the Earliest English KingsThe most impressive contribution to the bibliography of Anglo-Saxon legal sources since Thorpe and Liebermann, this edition contains the texts of the Kentish laws, the laws of Ine and Alfred the Great, treaties with the Danes, and the laws of Edward the Elder and Aethelstan. The texts are in Anglo-Saxon with English translations. (Latin texts are used if the Anglo-Saxon originals were lost.) "Mr. Attenborough has done a very useful work in providing a critical translation of the Anglo-Saxon dooms for English-speaking students who are unable, or do not go far enough to find it needful, to make use of Liebermann's great and apparently final edition. Not that advanced scholars can afford to neglect Mr. Attenborough, for he shows himself fully capable of independent judgement and makes many observations deserving their attention": Frederick Pollock, Law Quarterly Review 38 (1922) 511. |
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120 shillings 30 shillings According to Liebermann accused ælc æt þam Æthelstan Alfred Anglo-Saxon Athlr beforan bið bishop bote butan buton ceap ceorl church cwædon cyng cyning cyninges dær dæs dæt declared Domesday Book donne ealdorman ealle eallum EDWARD THE ELDER feoh forfeit gerefan geselle gewitnesse gielde gif hine Gif hit Gif hwa Godes Guthrum gylde hæbbe healf heora hlaford Hlothhere king king's lahslit laws Liebermann suggests lord LX scill mæge manna mannes mannum monnes oath oððe oðrum ofer offence ordale ordeal pæt paid as compensation pence pone ponne Quadr reeve riht ryht sceal sceattas Schmid scillinga scll scyldig shillings compensation slave swa hit syððan theft thegn thief Thorpe urum wære weorde wergeld wið Wihtred witan wite Wulfhelm xxx scill yrfe þæs þæt þam þonne
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Page 2 - Qui inter cetera bona, quae genti suae consulendo conferebat, etiam decreta illi iudiciorum, iuxta exempla Romanorum, cum consilio sapientium constituit; quae conscripta Anglorum sermone hactenus habentur et obseruantur ab ea. In quibus primitus posuit, qualiter id emendare deberet, qui aliquid rerum uel ecclesiae uel episcopi uel reliquorum ordinum furto auferret: uolens scilicet tuitionem eis, quos et quorum doctrinam susceperat, praestare.
Page 15 - ... much of the spirit of affectionate romance. The men, however, cannot be called mercenary suitors, as they appear to have been the paymasters. These contracts give occasion to the Saxon legislators to express the fact of treating for a marriage by the terms of buying a wife. Hence our oldest law says, if a man buys a maiden, the bargain shall stand if there be no deceit; otherwise, she should be restored to her home, and his money shall be returned to him.
Page vii - I have to thank the Syndics of the University Press for undertaking the publication of the book and the staff for the efficient and obliging way in which the printing and corrections have been carried out. HMC December, 1911. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE EARLY NARRATIVE POETRY OF THE TEUTONIC PEOPLES I II.