Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum
The Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum is an agreement between Alfred the Great , King of Wessex and Guthrum , ruler of East Anglia . The date of the contract is not known, but it can be narrowed down to the period between 878 and 890. The treaty of Alfred and Guthrum is one of the few surviving documents from the reign of Alfred the Great. He is in a old English version in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (manuscript 383), and in a Latin compilation of legal texts (Quadripartitus) from the time I. Henry received. The original was probably made in Old English.
Content of the contract
In the prologue that precedes the text of the treaty it says that the treaty between Alfred and Guthrum and the Witan of the Anglo-Saxons and all the people in East Anglia was made.
The first point is the most famous.
"First regarding our borders: up the Thames , and then up the Lea, and along the Lea to its source, then in a straight line to Bedford, then up the Ouse to Watling Street"
In the absence of other sources, this paragraph of the contract is generally regarded as representing the demarcation of the Danelag , but in fact it only deals with the delimitation between Alfred and Guthrum's spheres of influence.
The second paragraph specifies the amount of Wergeld to be paid in different cases.
"Then this: If a man is slain, we estimate all of them equal, English and Danes, at eight half marks of gold, except for the ceorl , who live in leased land and their (Danish) freedman , they are also the same, both 200 shillings. "
The third section contains stipulations on the number of oaths a thane must take to defend himself in the event of a murder charge.
In the fourth section it is required that a buyer of slaves, horses or oxen must know a guarantor.
The fifth and final paragraph deals with the population exchange across the border. It is stipulated that neither slaves nor suitors from Wessex should be accepted into the army of the Danes. Conversely, the same should apply to Danes. However, if the two peoples are dealt with anyway, hostages should be taken to guarantee good intentions.
literature
- Felix Liebermann: The laws of the Anglo-Saxons . 3 volumes. Niemeyer, Halle 1903–1916.
- F. Donald Logan: The Vikings in History . Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-15-010342-8 .
- Christian Uebach: The landings of the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings and the Normans in England. A comparative analysis . Tectum Verlag, Marburg 2003, ISBN 3-8288-8559-4 .