Note 56 — Chapter II · THE REGALIA, OR RIGHTS OF ROYALTY.

This peace was called the King’s Handsell, “cyninges handsealde gríð.” The extent to which his peace extended around his dwelling, that is, within the verge of the court, has been noticed in the fourth chapter of the First Book. The right subsisted throughout the Middle Ages and yet subsists, though differently motived and measured. The king’s handsealde gríð was by Æðelred’s law made bótless, that is, had no settled compensation. Æðelr. iii. § 1.