twelve shillings would pay for the loss of a foot, ten for a great toe, and twenty for a thumb.  If a man robbed his equal, he was compelled to pay threefold; if he robbed the king, he paid ninefold; and if he robbed the church, he was obliged to return twelvefold:  hence the robbery of ecclesiastical property was attended with such severe penalties that it was unusual.  In some cases theft was punished with death.

The code of Alfred was severe, but in an age of crime and disorder severity was necessary.  He also instituted a vigorous police, and divided the country into counties, and these again into hundreds or parishes, each of which was made responsible for the maintenance of order and the detection of crime.  He was severe on judges when they passed sentence irrespective of the rights of jurors.  He did not emancipate slaves, but he ameliorated their condition and limited their term of compulsory service.  Burglary in the king’s house was punished by a fine of one hundred and twenty shillings; in an archbishop’s, at ninety; in a bishop’s or ealdorman’s, at sixty; in the house of a man of twelve hydes, at thirty shillings; in a six-hyde man’s, at fifteen; in a churl’s, at five shillings,—­the fine being graded according to the rank of him whose house had been entered.  There was a rigorous punishment for working on Sunday:  if a theow, by order of his lord, the lord had to pay a penalty of thirty shillings; if without the lord’s order, he was condemned to be flogged.  If a freeman worked without his lord’s order, he had to pay sixty shillings or forfeit his freedom.  If a man was found burning a tree in a forest, he was obliged to pay a fine of sixty shillings, in order to protect the forest; or if he cut down a tree under which thirty swine might stand, he was obliged to pay a fine of sixty shillings.  These penalties seem severe, but they were inflicted for offences difficult to be detected and frequently committed.  We infer from these various fines that burglary, robbery, petty larcenies, and brawls were the most common offences against the laws.

One of the greatest services which Alfred rendered to the cause of civilization in England was in separating judicial from executive functions.  The old eorls and ealdormen were warriors; and yet to them had been committed the administration of justice, which they often abused,—­frequently deciding cases against the verdicts of jurors, and sometimes unjustly dooming innocent men to capital punishment.  Alfred hanged an ealdorman or alderman, one Freberne, for sentencing Haspin to death when the jury was in doubt.  He even hanged twenty-four inferior officers, on whom judicial duties devolved, for palpable injustice.