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Displaying 2 glossary terms starting with W

Wergild (Man-Price / Legal Valuation)

OE wergild < wer ('man') + gild ('payment, value')

The monetary value assigned by Anglo-Saxon law to a person's life according to their social rank, payable to their kin if slain to prevent blood-feud, and determining the judicial weight of their oath at law.

In charter disputes, oaths of king's thegns (worth 1,200 shillings) outweighed oaths of ordinary ceorls (worth 200 shillings).

“Wergild classifications structured social hierarchy across Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, and Wessex throughout the pre-Conquest era.”
S 1251 — Anglo-Saxon Dispute Settlement Read in charter →

Witenagemot (Council of the Wise)

OE witena gemōt ('assembly of the wise counsellors / witan')

The national council of Anglo-Saxon kings, composed of the realm's archbishops, diocesan bishops, religious abbots, ealdormen (*duces*), and senior royal thegns (*ministri*).

Royal diplomas were promulgated and sworn in the presence of the witenagemot, with the assembled magnates confirming the grant through their subscriptions.

“The presence of the witan ensured that land grants represented the collective political will of the kingdom rather than arbitrary monarchical whim.”
S 218 — Mercian Witenagemot Assembly Read in charter →