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GCSE History · key term
An Anglo-Saxon system of compensation paid to an injured person or the family of someone who had been killed; amounts varied with injury and social status.
Used by Edexcel and OCR
Paper 1, Paper 2
Revise: Nature and Types of Punishment in Medieval EnglandThe Anglo-Saxon wergild offered an alternative. An offender paid compensation to the injured person or, after a killing, to the victim’s family. Accepting payment provided a way to settle the dispute without further revenge.
Compensation paid to the family of a person who had been killed, with the amount depending on the victim's social status.
Paper 1
Compensation payable for killing a free person in Anglo-Saxon society. Its value depended on the victim's social rank.
Revise: SocietyWergild, literally ‘man-price’, was compensation payable for killing a free person. Its value depended on the victim’s status. Compensation offered an alternative to a blood feud, in which relatives sought revenge for a killing.
For a comparison, give linked details from both periods: Anglo-Saxon wergild compensated victims or their families, whereas Norman fines went to the king.
Link legal practices to their purposes: wergild compensated a victim's family, while tithings and the hue and cry involved the community in enforcing the law.
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