Re: wergild

From: David Dunham <dunham_at_pensee.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2000 12:58:42 -0800


From: Andrew Barton <AndrewBarton_at_compuserve.com>

> The sources I've seen for Anglo-Saxon wergilds all say that they were
> graduated by rank. By some accounts, your wegild was also the value of
> your oath if you swore in support of one side in a lawsuit.

Njal's Saga has wergilds which vary by rank.

> The GURPS 'Celtic Myth' book says that in brehon law a person's
> 'honor-price' varied according to rank and was based on what he could earn
> in two weeks. So, if you owed someone damages the higher his rank, the
> more you would pay.

OK, I found my notes. In Cattle Lords & Clansmen [looks like I returned Jeff's copy, so I can't give you the exact page], it says that wergild (cró) is always 7 cumals, or 21 "great cows." So there's precedent for a more egalitarian approach.

(I find it telling that the Irish had a one-syllable word for wergild...)

David Dunham <mailto:dunham_at_pensee.com> Glorantha/RQ page: <http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html> Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein


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