Legal Definitions - cirliscus

Cirliscus refers to the legal status, rights, and obligations associated with a "ceorl" in Anglo-Saxon England. A ceorl was a freeman who owned land and held a position in society between a nobleman (thegn) and a serf or slave. This status carried specific legal duties, such as military service, and rights, such as the ability to own property and participate in local assemblies.

• Example 1: Land Inheritance

  A farmer named Æthelred, who held the status of a ceorl, owned a small plot of land and a few livestock. Upon his death, his eldest son, Beorn, was legally entitled to inherit the land and property.

  This example illustrates cirliscus because the right for Æthelred to own land and for his son to inherit it was a direct privilege of his status as a ceorl, distinguishing him from a serf who might not have had such clear ownership or inheritance rights over the land they worked.

• Example 2: Military Obligation

  When the local lord summoned all able-bodied freemen to join the *fyrd* (the Anglo-Saxon militia) to defend against an invading force, a ceorl named Cynric was legally obligated to report for duty, bringing his own weapons and provisions.

  Cynric's mandatory service in the *fyrd* demonstrates cirliscus because this military duty was a specific obligation tied to his status as a land-owning freeman, a responsibility not imposed on slaves but expected of those with the ceorl standing.

• Example 3: Legal Compensation (Wergild)

  If a ceorl named Eadwig was unlawfully killed, his family would be entitled to receive a specific amount of "wergild" (blood money) from the killer or their family, as determined by Anglo-Saxon law.

  The specific amount of wergild due for Eadwig's death highlights cirliscus because the value of his life, and thus the compensation owed, was legally set according to his status as a ceorl, a distinct amount from that for a nobleman or a slave.