Alfred the Great (r. 871-899 CE) was the king of Wessex in Britain but came to be known as King of the Anglo-Saxons after his military victories over Viking adversaries and later successful negotiations with them. He is the best-known Anglo-Saxon king in British history.
Alfred's impressive military and administrative skills stabilized Britain after almost a century of Viking raids and warfare. He established the practice of translating classical works from Latin into English, set up public schools, reformed the military, and revised and expanded the law code. Later historians, especially during the Victorian Age, would consider him the most perfect king of the Middle Ages for his piety, justice, and noble vision of a better future for his people.
King Aethelred - 1000 AD.
In early Anglo-Saxon Law liability was absolute.
“The doer of a deed was responsible whether he acted innocently or inadvertently, because he was the doer; the owner of an instrument which caused harm was responsible, because he was the owner, though the instrument had been wielded by a thief; the owner of an animal, the master of a slave, was responsible because he was associated with it as owner, as master.”
In short, a man acts at his peril.
Maxims represented the state of the law with much more accuracy in 1100 than they do now!
qui inscienter peccat scienter emendet
he who sins unknowingly will make amends knowingly
There was a fatalistic attitude to life in early times which made men accept misfortune.