Legal Definitions - oxfild

Oxfild is a historical legal term that refers to a form of restitution or compensation paid by a local administrative district, such as a county or a "hundred" (a historical subdivision of a county), to rectify a wrong committed by one of its residents. Essentially, if an individual within a specific region caused harm or committed an offense, the entire region could be held accountable to provide compensation to the injured party. This practice reflected a communal responsibility for the actions of individuals residing within a particular jurisdiction.

Here are a few examples to illustrate the concept of oxfild:

• Imagine a scenario in medieval England where a traveling merchant is robbed of his valuable goods while passing through the jurisdiction of the Hundred of Green Valley. The thief is a known resident of that hundred, but he manages to escape and cannot be immediately apprehended or lacks the personal wealth to make amends. Under the principle of oxfild, the Hundred of Green Valley itself would be obligated to compensate the merchant for his lost goods. This demonstrates the communal responsibility for maintaining order and rectifying wrongs committed by its inhabitants, even when the individual perpetrator is unavailable or unable to pay.

• Consider a situation where a group of farmers from the County of Northshire, during a boundary dispute, intentionally damage a fence and destroy crops belonging to a landowner in the neighboring County of Southshire. Rather than solely pursuing each individual farmer for damages, the County of Northshire might be compelled to provide oxfild to the landowner in Southshire. This payment would cover the cost of repairing the fence and replacing the damaged crops, reflecting the county's collective responsibility for the destructive actions of its residents, especially when those actions caused harm across jurisdictional lines.

• Suppose a traveler is severely assaulted and injured on a public road within the jurisdiction of the Hundred of Stonebridge. The assailant, though believed to be a local resident, manages to flee the scene and cannot be identified or brought to justice. In such a case, where a specific wrongdoer from the region could not be held personally accountable, the Hundred of Stonebridge itself might be required to pay oxfild to the injured traveler. This compensation would help cover medical expenses and lost income, ensuring that victims of crimes committed within a region received some form of redress, even when the individual perpetrator remained unknown, reinforcing the collective accountability of the community.