Już bezprawie czy jeszcze prawo? O główszczyźnie i wróżdzie w Prusach Książęcych i Prusach Królewskich w czasach nowożytnych
Journal Title: Zapiski Historyczne. Poświęcone Historii Pomorza i Krajów Bałtyckich - Year 2016, Vol 81, Issue 2
Abstract
The wergild as a financial punishment for husband killing survived in Prussia until the mid-18th century, but the general rule was that the perpetrators of husband killing were sentenced to death. The reason why the wergild survived for such a long time in Prussia was the fact that courts applied the Chelmno law, according to which the wergild was recognized by tradition and also found in subsequent registers of the Chelmno law. At the beginning of the early modern period the wergild could apply only in case of assassinations committed in self-defense or by accident; deliberate crimes were subject to the law of retaliation. Yet, the law of retaliation could not be applied in relation to groups. With time the wergild could not be used out of court and the law of retaliation was abolished. The next step restricting the use of the wergild was the fact that it was to be applied in case of unintentional or accidental homicides; moreover, in case of killing in self-defence the perpetrator was exempt from the wergild. It was the court that passed a sentence of the wergild, but in cases of reconciliation the sentence was passed by other arbitration bodies. The wergild was allowed mainly among noblemen, which was in accordance with the Polish law of the time. The circle of people entitled to the wergild was reduced to the closest agnate, while in case of husband killing it applied only to the perpetrator. The wergild was no longer shared with the authorities; it was only the judge who received the fee referred to as multa. The value of the wergild was determined by the rank of the office held by the assassinated person. Moreover, the wergild constituted a kind of financial unit used to establish the value of fines and compensatory damages. Apart from the compensation in the form of financial gratification, the wergild constituted the indemnification for physical injury or damage to honour. The latter could also entail some additional punishment e.g. the act of submission. Until the mid-17th century the tradition of bloody retaliation (vendetta) was practiced at least among the nobility. It was illegal and punished by death sentence. Its alternative continued to be the possibility of settlement. The retaliation was limited only to the perpetrator of the homicide.
Authors and Affiliations
Grzegorz Białuński
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP191032
- DOI 10.15762/ZH.2016.18
- Views 68
- Downloads 0
The Picture of the City of Gdańsk in the Historiography From Beyond Gdańsk in the Late Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Early Modern Period
This article places into a broader scope of the research over the image of Gdańsk and its inhabitants in chronicles that are carried out by the authoress. It deals with the analysis of the historiographical sources origi...
Die Visitation als Mittel traditioneller Ordensstruktur nach 1466
The loss of the significant part of the territory by the Monastic State of the Teutonic Order after 1466 entailed structural changes in the state. Inspections constituted an important scrutinizing factor in various field...
Andrzej Kopiczko, Dzieje kościoła i parafii w Purdzie Wielkiej, Instytut Historii i Stosunków Międzynarodowych UWM, Olsztyn 2014, ss. 224
Recenzja publikacji: Andrzej Kopiczko, Dzieje kościoła i parafii w Purdzie Wielkiej, Instytut Historii i Stosunków Międzynarodowych UWM, Olsztyn 2014, ss. 224.
Wokół sprzedaży gdańskiego muzeum doktorów Gottwaldów: Johann Philipp Breyne i jego korespondenci
The article discusses the correspondence between Johann Philipp Breyne and scholars from the German-speaking territories of Europe and England interested in purchasing the exhibits from the Museum of the Gottwalds in Gda...
Lwowianie i torunianie z czasów dawnej Rzeczypospolitej uwzględnieni w 50 tomach Polskiego słownika biograficznego
The authors of the article deal with a list of biographical entries of people connected with Lviv and Torun from the beginning of the 16th century until 1772 (for Lviv) and 1773 (for Torun) included in the Polish biograp...