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Weregild (also spelled ''wergild'', ''wergeld'', ''weregeld'', etc.), also known as "man price", was a value placed on every being and piece of property in the Salic Code. If property was stolen, or someone was injured or killed, the guilty person would have to pay weregild as restitution to the victim's family or to the owner of the property.〔(dictionary.reference.com ), retrieved 2011-02-06〕〔(oed.com ), retrieved 2011-02-06〕 Weregild payment was an important legal mechanism in early Germanic society; the other common form of legal reparation at this time was blood revenge. The payment was typically made to the family or to the clan. No distinction was made between murder and manslaughter until these distinctions were instituted by the re-introduction of Roman law in the 12th century.〔John Fosberry (translator ), ''Criminal Justice through the Ages''. Mittalalterliches Kriminalmuseum, Rothenburg ob der Tauber (1990 1993), p. 49, pp. 99-101.〕 Payment of the weregild was gradually replaced with capital punishment, starting around the 9th century, and almost entirely by the 12th century when weregild began to cease as a practice throughout the Holy Roman Empire.〔Fosberry, pp. 48-52.〕 == Etymology and related concepts == The word ''weregild'' is composed of ''were'', meaning "man", and ''geld'', meaning "payment or fee", as in Danegeld. ''Geld'' or ''Jeld'' was the Old English and Old Frisian word for money, and still is in Dutch,German and Afrikaans. The Danish word ''gæld'' and Norwegian ''gjeld'' both mean "debt". "-Gäld" is also a constituent of some Swedish words, having the same meaning: e.g. ''återgälda'' (retribute, return favor), ''gengäld'' (in return/exchange), ''vedergälda'' (revenge), and the formal/legal term ''gäldenär'' (geldeneer, referring to someone who is indebted). The same concept outside Germanic culture is known as blood money. Words include ''ericfine'' in Ireland, ''galanas'' in Wales, ''veriraha'' in Finnish, ''vira'' ("''вира''") in Russia and ''główszczyzna'' in Poland. In the Arab world, the very similar institution of diyya is maintained into the present day. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Weregild」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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