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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Common terms and phrases
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
Popular passages
Page 99 - First concerning our boundaries : up the Thames, and then up the Lea, and along the Lea to its source, then in a straight line to Bedford, then up the Ouse to the Watling Street.
Page 85 - ... 42.7. And a man may fight without incurring a vendetta if he finds another man with his wedded wife, within closed doors or under the same blanket, or with his legitimate daughter or his legitimate sister, or with his mother who was given as a lawful wife to his father.
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 37 - If a slave works on Sunday by his lord's command, he shall become free, and the lord shall pay a fine of 30 shillings. § 1. If, however, the slave works without the cognisance of his master, he shall undergo the lash or pay the fine in lieu thereof. | 2. If, however, a freeman works on that day, except by his lord's command, he shall be reduced to slavery, or [pay a fine of] 60 shillings.
Page 101 - Danish host without permission, any more than any of them [should come over] to us. If. however, it happens that any of them, in order to satisfy their wants, wish to trade with us, or we [for the same reason wish to trade] with them, in cattle and in goods...
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.
Page 85 - up the Severn valley and across the Midlands. They repaired the 1 How slowly the law got the strength to replace the blood-feud and to bring the accused into court otherwise than by the force of arms of the aggrieved party, we are reminded by Alfred's laws, eg ' If anyone chances to meet his enemy, not having known him to be at home, and if he will give up his weapons, he shall be detained 30 days and his kinsmen informed. If he will not give up his weapons, then he may be attacked.
Page 73 - ... 18. If anyone lustfully seizes a nun, either by her clothes or by her breast, without her permission, he shall pay as compensation twice the sum we have fixed in the case of a woman belonging to the laity. § 1. If a young woman who is betrothed commits fornication, she shall pay compensation to the amount of 60 shillings to the surety 1 [of the marriage], if she is a commoner.
Page 63 - ... and have given orders for copies to be made of many of those which our predecessors observed and which I myself approved of. But many of those I did not approve of I have annulled, by the advice of my councillors, while [in other cases] I have ordered changes to be introduced...