Note 258 — Chapter XIII · EARLY ANGLO-SAXON CUSTOM.

This view that the single oath of the twelve-hyndeman was reckoned as a 10 hide oath is confirmed by the translation in the Latin of the Quadripartitus of Ine’s Laws, s. 46. The Anglo-Saxon ‘þonne sceal he be lx hyda onsacan,’ is translated by ‘tunc debet per lx hidas i.e. per vi homines abnegare.’ And in s. 19 ‘potest jurare pro lx hidis i.e. pro hominibus vi.’ Schmid remarks on these passages: ‘Hiernach würde also jeder Eideshelfer 10 Hiden vertreten.’