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The Doom Book, Code of Alfred or Legal Code of Ælfred the Great was the code of laws ("dooms", laws or judgments) compiled by Alfred the Great (c. 893 AD) from three prior Saxon codes, to which he prefixed the Ten Commandments of Moses and incorporated rules of life from the Mosaic Code and the Christian code of ethics.

The title "Doom book" (originally "dom-boc" or "dom-boke") comes from dōm (pronounced "dome") which is the Anglo-Saxon word meaning "judgment" or "law" — for instance, see Alfred's admonishment: Doom very evenly! Do not doom one doom to the rich; another to the poor! Nor doom one doom to your friend; another to your foe!

Mosaic Law: "You shall do no injustice in judgment! You shall not be partial to the poor; nor defer to the great! But you are to judge your neighbour fairly!" (Leviticus 19:15

).

F. N. Lee extensively documents Alfred the Great's work of collecting the law codes from the three Christian Saxon kingdoms and compiling them into his Doom Book.

Common Law. The three previous codes were those of Æthelberht of Kent (c. 602 AD), Ine of Wessex (c. 694 AD) and Offa of Mercia

(c. 786 AD).

In his extensive Prologue, Alfred summarized the Mosaic and Christian codes. Michael Treschow reviewed how Alfred laid the foundation for the Spirit of Mercy in his code:[3] Treschow states that the last section of the Prologue not only describes "a tradition of Christian law from which the law code draws but also it grounds secular law upon Scripture, especially upon the principle of mercy".

References

^ Thorpe, Benjamin, ed. (1840). Ancient Laws and Institutes of England: Comprising Laws Enacted Under the Angl-Saxon Kings from Æthelbirht to Cnut, with an English Translation of the Saxon; the Laws Called Edward the Confessor's; the Laws of William the Conqueror, and Those Ascribed to Henry the First; Also, Monumenta Ecclesiastica Anglicana, from the Seventh to the Tenth Century; and the Anciety Latin Version of the Anglo-Saxon Laws. Vol. 1. G.E. Eyre and A. Spottiswoode. p. 55. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
^ "Alfred the Great and our Common Law" (html). Retrieved May 25, 2015.^{[self-published source]}
^ Michael Treschow, The Prologue to Alfred’s Law Code: Instruction in the Spirit of Mercy, Florilegium 13, 1994 pp79-110.

External links

[1] Thorpe, Benjamin, ed. (1840). Ancient Laws and Institutes of England: Comprising Laws Enacted Under the Angl-Saxon Kings from Æthelbirht to Cnut, with an English Translation of the Saxon; the Laws Called Edward the Confessor's; the Laws of William the Conqueror, and Those Ascribed to Henry the First; Also, Monumenta Ecclesiastica Anglicana, from the Seventh to the Tenth Century; and the Anciety Latin Version of the Anglo-Saxon Laws. Vol. 1. G.E. Eyre and A. Spottiswoode. p. 55. Retrieved 13 November 2014.

[2] "Alfred the Great and our Common Law" (html). Retrieved May 25, 2015.^{[self-published source]}

[3] Michael Treschow, The Prologue to Alfred’s Law Code: Instruction in the Spirit of Mercy, Florilegium 13, 1994 pp79-110.

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 The title "Doom book" (originally "dom-boc" or "dom-boke") comes from dōm (pronounced "dome") which is the Anglo-Saxon word meaning "judgment" or "law" &mdash; for instance, see Alfred's admonishment: ''Doom very evenly! Do not doom one doom to the rich; another to the poor! Nor doom one doom to your friend; another to your foe!''<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Thorpe|editor1-first=Benjamin|title=Ancient Laws and Institutes of England: Comprising Laws Enacted Under the Angl-Saxon Kings from Æthelbirht to Cnut, with an English Translation of the Saxon; the Laws Called Edward the Confessor's; the Laws of William the Conqueror, and Those Ascribed to Henry the First; Also, Monumenta Ecclesiastica Anglicana, from the Seventh to the Tenth Century; and the Anciety Latin Version of the Anglo-Saxon Laws|volume=1|date=1840|publisher=G.E. Eyre and A. Spottiswoode|page=55|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=9FYtAQAAMAAJ&jtp=55|accessdate=13 November 2014}}</ref> The following reflects [[613 Mitzvot|Mosaic Law]]: "You shall do no injustice in judgment! You shall not be partial to the poor; nor defer to the great! But you are to judge your neighbour fairly!" ({{bibleref|Leviticus|19:15}}).
-F. N. Lee extensively documents Alfred the Great's work of collecting the law codes from the three Christian Saxon kingdoms and compiling them into his Doom Book.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dr-fnlee.org/docs6/alfred/alfred.pdf |title=Alfred the Great and our Common Law |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2013-11-19}}{{Dead link|date=November 2014}}{{Self-published source|date=November 2014}}</ref> Lee details how Alfred incorporated the principles of the Mosaic law into his Code. He then examines how this Code of Alfred became the foundation for the [[Common Law]]. The three previous codes were those of [[Æthelberht of Kent]] (c. 602 AD), [[Ine of Wessex]] (c. 694 AD) and [[Offa of Mercia]] (c. 786 AD).
+F. N. Lee extensively documents Alfred the Great's work of collecting the law codes from the three Christian Saxon kingdoms and compiling them into his Doom Book.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dr-fnlee.org/king-alfred-the-great-and-our-common-law/ |title=Alfred the Great and our Common Law |format=html |date= |accessdate=May 25, 2015}}{{Self-published source|date=November 2014}}</ref> Lee details how Alfred incorporated the principles of the Mosaic law into his Code. He then examines how this Code of Alfred became the foundation for the [[Common Law]]. The three previous codes were those of [[Æthelberht of Kent]] (c. 602 AD), [[Ine of Wessex]] (c. 694 AD) and [[Offa of Mercia]] (c. 786 AD).
 In his extensive Prologue, Alfred summarized the Mosaic and Christian codes. Michael Treschow reviewed how Alfred laid the foundation for the Spirit of Mercy in his code:<ref>Michael Treschow, The Prologue to Alfred’s Law Code: Instruction in the Spirit of Mercy, Florilegium 13, 1994 pp79-110.</ref> Treschow states that the last section of the Prologue not only describes "a tradition of Christian law from which the law code draws but also it grounds secular law upon Scripture, especially upon the principle of mercy".

Revision as of 21:50, 25 May 2015

References

Further reading

External links