wǽpen-getæc
- noun [ neuter ]
Grammar
A wapentake, a term used in northern England where in the south hundred was used: 'Quod alii vocant hundredum, supradicti comitatus (counties northward from Northamptonshire) vocant wapentagium,' L. Ed. C. 30; Th. i. 455. The word, which seems of Danish origin (cf. Icel. vápna-tak, though this is used in a different sense), is thus explained in the document above cited: Cum quis accipiebat prefecturam wapentagii, die statuto in loco ubi consueverant congregari, omnes majores natu contra eum conveniebant, et, descendente eo de equo suo, omnes assurgebant ei. Ipse vero erecta lancea sua, ab omnibus, secundum morem, foedus accipiebat: omnes enim quotquot venissent cum lanceis suis ipsius hastam tangebant, et ita se confirmabant per contactum armorum, pace palam concessa. Anglice vero arma vocantur wapen, et taccare confirmare, quasi armorum confirmacio, vel ut magis expresse, secundum linguam Anglicam, dicamus wapentac, i.e. armorum tactus: wapen enim arma sonat, tac tactus est. Quamobrem potest cognosci quod hac de causa totus ille conventus dicitur wapentac, eo quod per tactum armorum suorum ad invicem confoederates sunt. On this explanation see Stubbs' Const. Hist. i. 99 sq
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Wé willaþ ðæt man namige on ǽlcon wǽpengetæce .ii. trýwe þegnas,
- L.N.P.L. 57; Th. ii. 298, 31.
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Ǽlc ðara ceápa ðe hé bigcge oððe sylle áðer oþþe [on] burge oþþe on wǽpengetæce,
- L. Edg. 5, 6; Th. i. 274, 14.
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On wǽpentake,
- L. Eth. iii. 1; Th. i. 292, 8: iii. 3; Th. i. 294, 3, 8.
Entry information
Citation
Bosworth, Joseph. “wǽpen-getæc.” In An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online, edited by Thomas Northcote Toller, Christ Sean, and Ondřej Tichy. Prague: Faculty of Arts, Charles University, 2014. https://bosworthtoller.com/34384.
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