wergelt
/ˈwɛrɡɛlt/
noun
- Alternative spelling of weregild: a sum of money paid as compensation for a killing in early Germanic law.
- The concept of wergelt appears in many early medieval legal codes.
- If a person could not pay the wergelt, they might be enslaved or exiled.
- The wergelt system helped maintain peace by providing a legal alternative to vengeance.
Synonyms