550 INDEMNITY, WEEEGILD. 



shall have him taken and brought to the Thing and his teeth 

 broken out of his mouth " (King Magnus' Laws). 



To the wounded man himself, indemnity for wounds and fees 

 for physicians were paid ; the former varying according to the 

 nature of the wounds, but otherwise equal for all without 

 distinction of rett. The fee paid to a physician was fixed 

 according to the time taken in healing the wound. 



" One eyrir shall be paid as healing-fee every month and 

 two monthly allowances of meal and two of butter. Thus it 

 shall be every month till .... It shall be offered at the first 

 Thing, and his farm and his loose property is taken until he 

 has paid lawful fine to the king and wound-indemnities and 

 healing-fee to the wounded. If he does not offer it at the first 

 Thing he is outlawed and his property, except what he takes 

 into the wood with him (is confiscated) " (Frostath., iv. 12). 



All have equal wound-indemnities (sarbcetr), thegn and 

 thrall. If a man wounds a man's thrall he shall feed him 

 while he lies wounded and pay his work to his master and his 

 healing-fee " (Gulath., 215). 



If any one killed his own thrall he was not punished, but 

 had to declare it ; and if he failed to do so, he was mordingi 

 (murderer). If a man slew the thrall of another man, he had 

 to pay the value of the naked thrall to the master, but nothing 

 to the king. 1 



Atli, a freeman working for Njal, was slain by a kinsman 

 of Halgerd, the wife of Gunnar ; when Gunnar, who was at the 

 Althing, knew it, he went to Njal and wished him to arbitrate. 



'' Njal said : ' It was our intention not to disagree on this, and 

 I will not make him a thrall.' Gunnar said he assented, 

 and stretched forward his hand. Njal named witnesses, and 

 they agreed on this. Skarphedin said : ' Halgerd does not 

 allow our hiiskarls to die from old age.' Gunnar answered: 

 ' It is thy mother's intention that the blows should be mutual 

 in each Bother's farm.' Njal said : ' There will soon be too much 

 of this.' He arbitrated that one hundred in silver should be 

 paid, and Gunnar paid it at once " (Njala, c. 38). 



In ch. 39 we are told that the man who slew Atli is slain 

 by one of Bergthora's men, and Gunnar pays back the were^ild 

 to Njal. 



1 Frostath., v. 20. 



