home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
/
Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
/
W
/
Wergild
/
INFOTEXT
< prev
Wrap
Text File
|
1992-09-02
|
435b
|
11 lines
wergild, or wergeld. Old English `man' and
`yield'. in Anglo-Saxon and Germanic law
during the Middle Ages, the compensation paid
by a murderer to the relatives of the victim,
its value dependent on the social rank of the
deceased. It originated in European tribal
society as a substitute for the blood feud
(essentially a form of vendetta), and was
replaced by punishments imposed by courts of
law during the 10th and 11th centuries.