Lex FrisionumThe lex Frisionum, law of the Frisians, is a code of law of the Frisians which was writ

Lex FrisionumThe lex Frisionum, law of the Frisians, is a code of law of the Frisians which was written down in Latin during the reign of Charlemagne. Even though Frisia was conquered by the Franks at this point, many of these laws predate Christianity and gives us an unique insight into the justice system of the ancient Germanic people. The laws recorded in this code shows us what the punishments were for theft, murder, pyromancy, desecrating pagan temples and other crimes. The punishment was often a payment, ‘weergeld’, the height of the payment depended on the nature of the crime and your social status. Here are a few of the punishments described in the Lex Frisionum:On manslaughter:- If a noble man kills a noble man, he pays 80 solidi of this compensation, two parts belong to the heirs of the victim, and a third to his next of kin.(the payment for killing a freeman is 53 solidi and 1 denarius, 27 solidi for killing a serf)-If a freeman kills a noble man, he pays 80 solidi or if he denies he swears with 17.-If a serf kills a noble man, he pays also 80 solidi; or if he denies, he excuses himself with thirty-five oath-helpers of his own rank.-If any man, be it a noble man or freeman or serf or even slave, kills the slave of another, he pays according to how it is valued, and the lord swears with his oath that this was the right price.On theft:-If a noble man is accused of some theft and he wants to deny, than he swears with five oath-helpers.-Or, if he can not deny, he returns what he took twofold and he pays to the king 80 solidi as peace money, being his wergeld.-If a freeman is being accused of theft and he wants to deny, he swears six fold with freemen; or if he confesses he repays what he took twofold and he pays to the king as peace money his wergeld.-If a slave is being accused of being guilty of theft, his lord will swear the oath for him on his garment.-Or, if it was something of great value, the lord swears on the relics or the slave is tested with an ordeal in boiling water.-If someone is caught stealing, and is being accused of theft by the one who caught him, and he denies, than each of them swears alone, and they must be judged in an ordeal with boiling water if the guilt of the accused is proven, he pays his wergeld to the king and redeems his hand with 60 solidi and pays the single fine for theft.On pyromancy:-If someone sets fire to the house of another, he pays him his house, and everything in it that was burnt, twofold.-If, however, by the flames he forces the lord of the house to come out and then he kills him, he pays nine fold for him, whatever his rank was, whether it be noble or free or serf. This regulation has been issued by the king.On whoring:-If a woman has united herself lecherously with a man, she pays to the king her wergeld this must be done by a noble man and a free woman.-But if it was a slave and a virgin, on which the man laid his hands, than he who violated her pays to her lord 4 solidi, that is 12 denarii.On killing relatives:-If someone kills his father, he looses the heritage that would be his due.-If someone kills his brother, he pays for him to his closest heirs if he had a son or daughter, or, if he did not, he pays his father or his mother or his brother or also his sister; if there is none of these persons, he pays for him to the king.On wounds:-If anyone hits another on the head in anger, and thus makes him deaf, he pays 24 solidi.-If the bone is broken, he pays 12 solidi.-If anyone chops off another’s ear, he pays 12 solidi.-If anyone pierces another’s chest, he pays 12 solidi.-If anyone cuts off another man’s penis, he pays the victim’s wergeld.-If anyone grabs another by the hair in anger, he pays 2 solidi, and as peace money 4 solidi to the king.-If anyone pushes another who is standing by the water and throws him into the water, and he submerges, he pays 4 solidi, and as peace money 2 solidi.-If anyone touches the breasts of a free woman, who is not his own, he pays twice 4 solidi and 2 solidi as peace money.-If anyone rescues a man who by some coincidence had fallen into the water, he receives a reward of 4 solidi.On the honour of the temple:-If anyone breaks into a shrine and steals sacred items from there, he shall be taken to the sea, and on the sand, which will be covered by the flood, his ears will be cleft, and he will be castrated and sacrified to the god, whose temple he dishonoured.The last law that I have mentioned is perhaps the most interesting one of them all since it is the only Germanic pagan religious law that we have. Surely Charlemagne wouldn’t want to publish a code of law with so many pagan elements, it is therefore thought that the Lex Frisionum was an early draft of the Frisian law, an early draft based on much older pagan laws. -- source link
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