How much does a life cost?

[intertext]

I appeal to the collective knowledge of the flist.

Today, while teaching Beowulf, I pointed out the bit that always amuses me about Grendel, where they say that not only is he a horrible monster and eats our warriors but he doesn't even have the decency to pay weregild!

A hand popped up, and one student asked the very sensible question - what would weregild consist of? In other words, what was the going rate for a warrior's life in those days? I had to confess that I didn't have the foggiest but would endeavour to find out. If necessary, I'll do some research (or at least try Googling it), but I figured that one of my esteemed flist might just already know, so... any takers?

Comments

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Most of the early English law codes specify a fixed rate. So much for a freeman, so much for a thane (typically 3 or 6 times an ordinary freeman) and so much for someone who was 'half free' where that status existed. The going rate for a thane in Mercia was 1200 shillings but it did vary a bit by time and place.