Wergeld

Quick meaning: Wergeld is a noun meaning (historical, especially in Germanic law) Blood money, the monetary value assigned to a person, set according to their rank, used to determine the compensation paid by the perpetrator of a crime to the victim in the case of injury or to the victim's kindred in the case of homicide; such a reparative payment or compensation.

Meaning

(historical, especially in Germanic law) Blood money, the monetary value assigned to a person, set according to their rank, used to determine the compensation paid by the perpetrator of a crime to the victim in the case of injury or to the victim's kindred in the case of homicide; such a reparative payment or compensation.

Example Sentences

In its opening article the equality of the wergeld of a Novgorodian Slav with that of a Kievan Russian is proclaimed.

But Isildur refused this counsel, saying: ‘This I will have as weregild for my father’s death, and my brother’s. Was it not I that dealt the Enemy his death-blow?’

The first law we find is one of Æthelbirht's:—"if a freeman lie with a freeman's wife, let him pay for it with his 'wer-geld,' and provide another wife with his own money, and bring her to the other."

In these clauses a lord had the duty of yielding up his esne if he was guilty of homicide and paying the dead man's wergeld. If the esne escaped, his lord had then to pay the value of a further man (that is, one hundred shillings), which was a ceorl's wergeld and may well have been the value of an esne as well.

Word Forms

• wergelds
• weregeld
• weregild
• were gild
• wergelt
• wergild

Synonyms for wergeld

Depending on context, synonyms include wer.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include wergild, wehrgeld, wergyld, blood-wite, bloodwit, frumgild.

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