“There is a passage in the writings of King Alfred which brings out into remarkable clearness the struggle of the various ideas that prevailed in his day as to the origin of criminal jurisdiction. It will be seen that Alfred attributes it partly to the authority of the Church and partly to that of the Witan, while he expressly claims for treason against the lord the same immunity from ordinary rules which the Roman Law of Majestas had assigned to treason against the Cæsar.”

Siththan thæt tha gelamp, thæt monega theoda Cristes geleafan onfengon, tha wurdon monega seonothas geond ealne middan geard gegaderode, and eac swa geond Angel cyn, siththan hie Cristes geleafan onfengon, haligra biscepa and eac otherra gethungenra witena. Hie tha gesetton for thære mildheortnesse, the Crist lærde, æt mæstra hwelcre misdæde, thæt tha woruld hlafordas moston mid hiora leafan buton synne æt tham forman gylte thære fioh-bote onfon, the hie tha gesettan; buton æt hlaford searwe, tham hie nane mildheortnesse ne dorston gecwæthan, fortham the God Ælmihtig tham nane ne gedemde the hine oferhogodon, ne Crist, Godes sunu, tham nane ne gedemde, the hyne sealde to deathe; and he bebead thone hlaford lufian swa hine selfne. After that it happened that many nations received the faith of Christ, and there were many synods assembled through all parts of the world, and likewise throughout the Angle race after they had received the faith of Christ, of holy bishops and also of other distinguished Witan. They then ordained, out of that compassion which Christ had taught, in the case of almost every misdeed, that the secular lords might, with their leave and without sin, for the first offence accept the money penalty which they then ordained; excepting in the case of treason against a lord, to which they dared not assign any mercy, because God Almighty adjudged none to them that despised Him, nor did Christ, the Son of God, adjudge any to them that sold Him to death; and He commanded that the lord should be loved as Himself.
Hie tha on monegum senothum monegra menniscra misdæda bote gesetton, and on monega senoth bec hy writon hwær anne dom hwær otherne. They then in many synods ordained a “bot” for many human misdeeds, and in many a synod-book they wrote, here one decision, there another.
Ic tha Ælfred cyning thas togædere gegaderode and awritan het monege thara, the ure foregengan heoldon, tha the me licodon; and manege thara the me ne licodon, ic awearp mid minra witena getheahte, and on othre wisan bebead to healdenne, fortham ic ne dorste gethristlæcan thara minra awuht feala on gewrit settan, fortham me wæs uncuth, hwæt thæs tham lician wolde, the æfter us wæren. Ac tha the ic gemette, awther oththe on Ines dæge, mines mæges, oththe on Offan, Myrcena cyninges, oththe on Æthelbryhtes, the ærest fulluht onfeng on Angel cynne, tha the me ryhtoste thuhton, ic tha her on gegaderode and tha othre forlet. I then, Alfred, king, gathered these together, and I ordered to write out many of those that our forefathers held which to me seemed good; and many of those that to me seemed not good I rejected, with the counsel of my Witan, and in other wise commanded to hold; forasmuch as I durst not venture to set any great quantity of my own in writing, because it was unknown to me what would please those who should be after us. But those things that I found established, either in the days of Ine my kinsman, or in Offa’s, king of the Mercians, or in Æthelbryht’s, who first received baptism in the Angle race, those which seemed to me rightest, those I have here gathered together, and the others I have rejected.
Ic tha Ælfred, West seaxna cyning, eallum minum witum thas geeowde, and hie tha cwædon, thæt him thæt licode eallum to healdenne. I then, Alfred, king of the West Saxons, to all my Witan showed these; and they then said, that it seemed good to them all that they should be holden.

ALFRED AND GUTHRUM’S PEACE.

This is a little code which marks a crisis in Alfred’s life, and, it may be added, a crisis also in the life of the nation. When Alfred by his victory over the Danes in 878 had brought them to sue for peace, the treaty was made at Wedmore in Somersetshire. The original text of the peace between Alfred and Guthrum is among the Anglo-Saxon laws, and we present it to the reader in its entire form. The first item is about the frontier line between the two races which was drawn diagonally through the heart of England, cutting Mercia in two, and leaving half of it under the Danes. The two parts into which the country was thus divided, were designated severally as the “Engla lagu” and the “Dena lagu.”

Ælfredes and Guthrumes frith. This is thæt frith, thæt Ælfred cynincg and Gythrum cyning and ealles Angel cynnes witan, and eal seo theod the on East Englum beoth, ealle gecweden habbath, and mid athum gefeostnod, for hy sylfe and for heora gingran, ge for geborene, ge for ungeborene, the Godes miltse recce oththe ure. Alfred and Guthrum’s Peace. This is the peace that king Alfred and king Guthrum and the counsellors of all Angel-kin, and all the people that are in East Anglia, have all decreed and with oaths confirmed for themselves and for their children, both for the born and for the unborn, all who value God’s favour or ours.
Cap. 1. Ærest ymb ure land-gemæra: up on Temese and thonne up on Ligan, and andlang Ligan oth hire æ wylm, thonne on gerihte to Bedan forda, thonne up on Usan oth Wætlinga stræt. Cap. 1. First about our land-boundaries:—Up the Thames, and then up the Lea, and along the Lea to her source, then straight to Bedford, then up the Ouse to Watling Street.
2. Thæt is thonne, gif man ofslagen weorthe, ealle we lætath efen dyrne Engliscne and Deniscne, to viii healfmarcum asodenes goldes, buton tham ceorle the on gafol lande sit, and heora liesingum, tha syndan eac efen dyre, ægther to cc scill. 2. Videlicet, if a person be slain, we all estimate of equal value, the Englishman and the Dane, at eight half-marks of pure gold; except the ceorl who resides on gafol-land, and their [i.e. the Danish] liesings, those also are equally dear, either at two hundred shillings.
3. And gif mon cyninges thegn beteo manslihtes, gif he hine ladian dyrre, do he thæt mid xii cininges thegnum. Gif man thone man betyhth, the bith læssa maga thonne se cyninges thegn, ladige he hine mid xi his gelicena and mid anum cyninges thægne. And swa ægehwilcere spræce, the mare sy thonne iiii mancussas. And gyf he ne dyrre, gylde hit thry gylde, swa hit man gewyrthe. 3. And if a king’s thane be charged with killing a man, if he dare to clear himself, let him do it with twelve king’s thanes. If the accused man be of less degree than the king’s thane, let him clear himself with eleven of his equals, and with one king’s thane. And so in every suit that may be for more than four mancuses. And if he dare not, let him pay threefold, according as it may be valued.
Be getymum. 4. And thæt ælc man wite his getyman be mannum and be horsum and be oxum. Of Warrantors. 4. And that every man know his warrantor for men and for horses and for oxen.
5. And ealle we cwædon on tham dæge the mon tha athas swor, thæt ne theowe ne freo ne moton in thone here faran butan leafe, ne heora nan the ma to us. Gif thonne gebyrige, thæt for neode heora hwilc with ure bige habban wille, oththe we with heora, mid yrfe and mid æhtum, thæt is to thafianne on tha wisan, thæt man gislas sylle frithe to wedde, and to swutelunge, thæt man wite thæt man clæne bæc hæbbe. 5. And we all said on that day when the oaths were sworn, that neither bond nor free should be at liberty to go to the host[97] without leave, nor of them any one by the same rule (come) to us. If, however, it happen, that for business any one of them desires to have dealings with us or we with them, about cattle and about goods, that is to be granted on this wise, that hostages be given for a pledge of peace, and for evidence whereby it may be known that the party has a clean back [i.e., that he has not carried off on his back what is not his own].

EADWARD AND GUTHRUM’S LAWS.

Besides two codes of laws of Eadward, the son of Alfred, we have also a code entitled as above. Of these laws it is said that they were first made between Alfred and Guthrum, and afterwards between Eadward and Guthrum.[98] Many of the enactments of this code were transmitted to later ordinances.

This syndon tha domas the Ælfred cyneg and Guthrum cyneg gecuran. These are the dooms that king Alfred and king Guthrum chose.
And this is seo gerædnis eac the Ælfred cyng and Guthrum cyng. and eft Eadward cyng and Guthrum cyng. gecuran and gecwædon. Tha tha Engle and Dene to frithe and to freondscipe fullice fengen. and tha witan eac the syththan wæron eft and unseldan thæt seolfe geniwodon and mid gode gehihtan. And this is the ordinance, also, which king Alfred and king Guthrum, and afterwards king Eadward and king Guthrum, chose and ordained, when the English and Danes fully took to peace and to friendship; and the Witan also, who were afterward, often and repeatedly renewed the same and increased it with good.

ATHELSTAN’S LAWS.

Under the name of Athelstan we have five codes, of which the second and third are mere abstracts in Latin; but the others are in Saxon; and besides these a substantive ordinance bearing the special title of “The Judgments of the City of London.” This has been described as follows:—“The rules of the guild composed of thanes and ceorls (gentlemen and yeomen), under the perpetual presidency of the bishop and portreeve of London.”[99] They combine to protect themselves against robbery, and this in two ways: (1) by promoting the action of the laws against robbers; (2) by mutual insurance.