If their oaths were not satisfactory, witnesses might be brought to swear to some particular fact.  In ever case the value of the oath was graduated according to the rank of the person, that of a man of high rank being worth as much as that of twelve common men.

91.  The Ordeal.

Secondly, if the accused could not clear himself in this way, he was obliged to submit to the ordeal.[2] This usually consisted in carrying a piece of hot iron a certain distance, or in plunging the arm up to the elbow in boiling water.

[2] Ordeal:  a severe test or judgment

The person who underwent the ordeal appealed to God to prove his innocence by protecting him from harm.  Rude as both these methods were, they were better than the old tribal method, which permitted every man or every man’s family to be the avenger of his wrongs.

92.  The Common Law.

The laws by which these cases were tried were almost always ancient customs, few of which had been reduced to writing.  They formed that body of Common Law[3] which is the foundation of the modern system of justice both in England and America.

[3] So called, in distinction from the statute laws made by Parliament.

93.  Penalties.

The penalties inflicted by these courts consisted chiefly of fines.  Each man’s life had a certain “wergild” or money value.  The fine for the murder of a man of very high rank was 2400 shillings; that of a simple freeman was only one twelfth as much.

A slave could neither testify in court nor be punished by the court; for the man in that day who held no land had no rights.  If a slave was convicted of crime, his master paid the fine, and then flogged him until he had got his money’s worth out of him.  Treason was punished with death, and common scolds were ducked in a pond until they were glad to hold their tongues.  These methods of administering justice were crude, but they had the great merit of being effective.  They aimed to do two very necessary things:  first, to protect the community against dangerous criminals; secondly, to teach those criminals that “the way of the transgressor is hard.”

II.  Religion

94.  The Ancient Saxon Faith.

Before their conversion to Christianity, the Saxons worshiped Woden and Thor, names preserved in Wednesday (Woden’s day) and Thursday (Thor’s day).  The first appears to have been considered to be the creator and ruler of heaven and earth; the second was his son, the god of thunder, slayer of evil spirits, and friend of man.

The essential element of their religion was the deification of strength, courage, and fortitude.  It was a faith well suited to a warlike people.  It taught that there was a heaven for the brave and a hell for cowards.

95.  What Christianity did.

Christianity, on the contrary, laid emphasis on the virtues of self-sacrifice and sympathy.  It took the side of the weak and the helpless.  The Church itself held slaves, yet it labored for emancipation.  It built monasteries and encouraged industry and education.  The church edifice was a kind of open Bible.