Laws of Ine of Wessex

E916870

Anglo-Saxon law code West Saxon royal legislation early medieval legal code

The Laws of Ine of Wessex are an early 8th-century West Saxon legal code issued by King Ine that provides one of the earliest detailed written records of Anglo-Saxon governance, social structure, and justice.

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All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
Law code of Ine	2
Laws of Ine	2
King Ine's laws	1
Laws of Ine of Wessex canonical	1
West Saxon law codes	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T11280670 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Laws of Ine of Wessex
Context triple: [Anglo-Saxon law, codifiedIn, Laws of Ine of Wessex]

A. Laws of Hlothhere and Eadric
The Laws of Hlothhere and Eadric are an early Kentish Anglo-Saxon legal code, issued by kings Hlothhere and Eadric in the late 7th century, outlining regulations on crime, compensation, and social order.
B. Laws of Cnut
The Laws of Cnut are a set of early 11th-century legal codes issued by King Cnut the Great that consolidated and revised existing English and Danish laws in his Anglo-Scandinavian kingdom.
C. Laws of Æthelred the Unready
The Laws of Æthelred the Unready are a series of late 10th- and early 11th-century English legal codes issued under King Æthelred II, reflecting the administration, social order, and church relations of Anglo-Saxon England.
D. Laws of Wihtred
The Laws of Wihtred are an early 8th-century Kentish legal code issued by King Wihtred, notable for its focus on ecclesiastical matters and the relationship between church and royal authority in Anglo-Saxon England.
E. Laws of Hywel Dda
The Laws of Hywel Dda are a medieval Welsh legal code traditionally attributed to King Hywel the Good, notable for its relatively progressive provisions on women’s rights, compensation, and social order in Wales.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Laws of Ine of Wessex
Target entity description: The Laws of Ine of Wessex are an early 8th-century West Saxon legal code issued by King Ine that provides one of the earliest detailed written records of Anglo-Saxon governance, social structure, and justice.

A. Laws of Hlothhere and Eadric
The Laws of Hlothhere and Eadric are an early Kentish Anglo-Saxon legal code, issued by kings Hlothhere and Eadric in the late 7th century, outlining regulations on crime, compensation, and social order.
B. Laws of Cnut
The Laws of Cnut are a set of early 11th-century legal codes issued by King Cnut the Great that consolidated and revised existing English and Danish laws in his Anglo-Scandinavian kingdom.
C. Laws of Æthelred the Unready
The Laws of Æthelred the Unready are a series of late 10th- and early 11th-century English legal codes issued under King Æthelred II, reflecting the administration, social order, and church relations of Anglo-Saxon England.
D. Laws of Wihtred
The Laws of Wihtred are an early 8th-century Kentish legal code issued by King Wihtred, notable for its focus on ecclesiastical matters and the relationship between church and royal authority in Anglo-Saxon England.
E. Laws of Hywel Dda
The Laws of Hywel Dda are a medieval Welsh legal code traditionally attributed to King Hywel the Good, notable for its relatively progressive provisions on women’s rights, compensation, and social order in Wales.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Anglo-Saxon law code ⓘ West Saxon royal legislation ⓘ early medieval legal code ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Dooms of Ine ⓘ Laws of Ine ⓘ linked to: Laws of Ine of Wessex
appliesToJurisdiction	Wessex ⓘ linked to: Kingdom of Wessex
approximateDate	c. 688–694 ⓘ
authority	royal authority of Ine of Wessex ⓘ
contains	provisions on church protection ⓘ provisions on compensation (wergild) ⓘ provisions on feuds and reconciliation ⓘ provisions on harboring fugitives ⓘ provisions on homicide ⓘ provisions on landholding and property ⓘ provisions on oath-taking ⓘ provisions on ordeal procedures ⓘ provisions on social ranks ⓘ provisions on theft ⓘ provisions on tithes and church dues ⓘ
country	Kingdom of Wessex ⓘ
dateOfIssue	early 8th century ⓘ
followedBy	Laws of Alfred the Great ⓘ linked to: King Alfred's laws
follows	Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England ⓘ earlier customary law of the West Saxons ⓘ
hasPart	prologue ⓘ series of numbered clauses ⓘ
historicalSignificance	important evidence for early medieval English justice system ⓘ key source for early West Saxon social structure ⓘ one of the earliest detailed written records of Anglo-Saxon governance ⓘ
issuedBy	King Ine of Wessex ⓘ
language	Old English ⓘ
legalSystem	Anglo-Saxon law ⓘ West Saxon law ⓘ linked to: Anglo-Saxon law
precededBy	Laws of Hlothhere and Eadric ⓘ Laws of Wihtred ⓘ Laws of Æthelberht of Kent ⓘ linked to: Law of Æthelberht of Kent
preservedIn	Textus Roffensis ⓘ later medieval manuscript compilations of Anglo-Saxon laws ⓘ
regulates	compensation for injuries ⓘ ecclesiastical matters ⓘ obligations of different social classes ⓘ penalties for crimes ⓘ relations between king and subjects ⓘ rural and agrarian disputes ⓘ treatment of foreigners and traders ⓘ
reignOf	Ine of Wessex ⓘ
religiousInfluence	Christian church ⓘ linked to: Christian Church Roman Christianity ⓘ
script	Latin alphabet ⓘ
studiedInDiscipline	Anglo-Saxon studies ⓘ legal history ⓘ medieval history ⓘ

How these facts were elicited