Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 1.djvu/91

TO A.D. 1066.] If any of the members, who was a poor man, killed another, the society were to contribute, in a certain proportion, to pay his fine: a mark a-piece if the fine be 700 shillings; less if the person killed be a clown or ceorle; and the half of that sum again if he be a Welshman. But where any of the associates kills a man wilfully and without provocation, he must himself pay the fine. If any of the associates kill any of his fellows in a like criminal manner, besides paying the usual fine to the relations of the deceased, he must pay eight pounds to the society, or renounce the benefit of it: in which case they bind themselves, under the penalty of one pound, never to eat or drink with him, except in the presence of the king, bishop, or alderman. There were other regulations to protect themselves and their servants from all injuries, to revenge such as were committed, and to prevent their giving abusive language to each other; the fine which they engaged to pay for this last offence was a measure of honey.



The Saxons, like the rest of the German nations, were divided into three classes—the noble, the free, and the slave; a distinction they maintained after they had settled in Britain.

The nobles were called thanes, and were of two kinds—the king's thanes, and lesser thanes. The latter seem to have been dependent on the former, and to have received lands, for which they paid rent, services, or attendance in peace or war. We know of no title which raised any one to the rank of thane, except noble birth and the possession of land. The former was always much regarded by all the German nations.

There are two statutes, however, to be found amongst the Saxon laws which seem to confound these ranks. Athelstan decreed that the merchant who had made three long sea voyages on his own account should be entitled to the quality of thane, and that a husbandman who had bought five hides of land, and had a chapel, a kitchen, a hall, and a bell, should enjoy the same rank.



The cities, according to the Doomsday-book, appear to have been little better than villages: York, the second in the kingdom, contained but 1,418 families; Norwich had only 738 houses; Exeter, 315; Ipswich, 538; Northampton, 60; Hertford, 146; Canterbury, 262; Bath, 64; Southampton, 94; and Warwick, 225.

These appear to have been the most considerable; the account of them is extracted from the Doomsday-book.

William of Malmesbury tells us that the great distinction between the Anglo-Saxon nobility and the French or Normans was, that the latter built magnificent and stately castles; whereas the former consumed their immense fortunes in riotous hospitality, and in mean houses. We may thence infer that the arts in general were much less advanced in England than in France.

The lower ranks of freemen were the ceorles or husbandmen, employed in cultivating the farms of the nobles or thanes; for which they paid rent, chiefly in kind, and seem to have been removable at pleasure.

But by far the most numerous rank appears to have been the slaves, or villains, who were the absolute property of their lords, and incapable of possessing any kind of property. Of this latter class there were two kinds amongst the Saxons—household slaves, and prædial, or labouring ones.

The power of the master over his slave, however, was not unlimited, for if he beat his eyes or his teeth out, the latter might claim his liberty; and if he killed him, he paid a fine to the king, provided the slave died within a day after receiving his wound.

The great nobles and prelates held criminal jurisdiction upon their possessions—a circumstance which too frequently served as a protection to evil-doers and robbers, rather than acted as a check upon them.

The punishments amongst the Anglo-Saxons appear to have been exceedingly mild for some offences, since even murder might be atoned for by the payment of a fine.

The laws of Alfred enjoin, that if any one know that his enemy or aggressor, after doing him an injury, resolves to keep within his own house and his own lands, he shall not fight him till he require compensation for the injury. If he be strong enough to besiege him in his house, he may do it for seven days without attacking him; and if the