Cro and galnes of person killed paid to the parentes.
In IV. xxx. of the treatise it is stated that if a person on horseback rides over some one going before him so as to kill him, he must render for the dead man so killed ‘cro et galnes’ as if he killed him with his own hands; and it goes on to say that if the rider treads a man to death by riding over him when backing his horse (as it would not then presumably be his fault) he is to pay nothing but ‘the fourth foot of the horse,’ which satisfaction the parentes of the man killed ought to accept.
The mention in this treatise of cro and galnes payable to parentes of the slain seems to imply that the customs relating to payments for homicide were generally in force throughout Scotland and not confined to any particular district. The words ‘cro and galnes,’ apparently meaning the wergeld, meet us again in the document relating to the customs of the Bretts and Scots.
The final clause (IV. liv.) describes the ‘merchet’ of women ‘according to the assize of Scotland.’ It begins by stating that the merchet of a woman, quecunque mulier fuerit, sive nobilis, sive serva, sive mercenaria, is ‘una juvenca vel tres solidi’ with 3d. as rectum servientis. Surely a female slave is here intended.
Merchet of several grades of women.
This seems to be the minimum ‘merchet,’ for the clause proceeds:—
And if she be the daughter of a freeman and not of the lord of the town (dominus ville) her merchet shall be one cow or six shillings and ‘rectum servientis’ 6d. Likewise the merchet [of the daughter] of a thane’s son or ochethiern two cows or twelve shillings and ‘rectum servientis’ 12d.
Likewise the merchet of the daughter of an earl (comes); and that of a queen; twelve cows and ‘rectum servientis’ two solidi.
This clause regarding the ‘merchet’ is useful as giving a scale of values in cows and shillings.
juvenca = 3 shillings. cow = 6 shillings.