Æthelberht of Kent - Law Code

Law Code

Some time after the arrival of Augustine’s mission, perhaps in 602 or 603, Æthelberht issued a set of laws, in ninety sections. These laws are considered the earliest surviving code composed in any of the Germanic countries, and almost certainly were one of the very first documents written down in Anglo-Saxon, as literacy would have arrived in England with Augustine’s mission. The only surviving early manuscript, the Textus Roffensis, dates from the twelfth century, and it now resides in the Medway Studies Centre in Strood, Kent. Æthelberht’s code makes reference to the church in the very first item, which enumerates the compensation required for the property of a bishop, a deacon, a priest, and so on; but overall, the laws seem remarkably uninfluenced by Christian principles. Bede asserted that they were composed "after the Roman manner", but there is little discernible Roman influence either. In subject matter, the laws have been compared to the Lex Salica of the Franks, but it is not thought that Æthelberht based his new code on any specific previous model.

The laws are concerned with setting and enforcing the penalties for transgressions at all levels of society; the severity of the fine depended on the social rank of the victim, with crimes against the Church penalized the most, more greatly even than those against the king. The king had a financial interest in enforcement, for part of the fines would come to him in many cases, but the king also was responsible for law and order, and avoiding blood feuds by enforcing the rules on compensation for injury was part of the way the king maintained control. Æthelberht’s laws are mentioned by Alfred the Great, who compiled his own laws, making use of the prior codes created by Æthelberht, as well as those of Offa of Mercia and Ine of Wessex.

One of Æthelberht’s laws seems to preserve a trace of a very old custom: the third item in the code states that "If the king is drinking at a man’s home, and anyone commits any evil deed there, he is to pay twofold compensation." This probably refers to the ancient custom of a king traveling the country, being hosted, and being provided for by his subjects wherever he went. The king’s servants retained these rights for centuries after Æthelberht’s time.

Items 77–81 in the code have been interpreted as a description of a woman’s financial rights after a divorce or legal separation. These clauses define how much of the household goods a woman could keep in different circumstances, depending on whether she keeps custody of the children, for example. It has recently been suggested by one source, however, that it would be more correct to interpret these clauses as referring to women who are widowed, rather than divorced.