The compensation that had to be paid by a murderer to the kinsmen of the victim in Anglo‐Saxon England. The amount of an individual’s wergild was fixed in law and varied according to his rank in society. An ordinary freeman (ceorl) was valued at 200 shillings, a nobleman (earl) at 1200 shillings, and the king at 7200 shillings. Although the unfree had no wergild, compensation for their murder was paid to their owners.