weregild
/ˈwɛrɡɪld/
noun
- In early Germanic law, a sum of money paid by a person who has killed someone to the victim's family as compensation, to avoid a blood feud.
- In Anglo-Saxon England, the weregild for killing a nobleman was much higher than for a commoner.
- Historians study weregild amounts to understand how different social classes were valued.
- The family accepted the weregild and agreed not to seek revenge for their son's death.