LITERATURE QUESTIONS
EARLY BRITISH LITERATURE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Commitatus
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Lineage Invocation
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Weirgild
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Flyting
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Detailed explanation-1: -Literally translated, Wergild is an Anglo-Saxon word that means “man-price.” Wergild can broadly be defined as the compensation owed for the injury of another. The earliest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms each had unique laws for a number of offenses that were categorized as wergild.
Detailed explanation-2: -Another word from this period, which occurs in Beowulf, is “wergild.” Wergild is the value of a man’s life, payable to his family by his murderer. The individual does not always have to be sentenced to death as a consequence for his guilt in a murder.
Detailed explanation-3: -The Anglo-Saxon culture was centered around three classes of men: the working man, the churchman, and the warrior.
Detailed explanation-4: -One example of wergild in “Beowulf” is when Hrothgar pays the Wulfing tribe riches for the feud of Beowulf’s father. Hrothgar wanted to ensure Beowulf’s loyalty for fighting the monster Grendel, so he pays the wergild debt owed by his father.