frith

Frith is an Old English term (from friþ) meaning peace, protection, or sanctuary. It derives from Proto-Germanic *frithuz and has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Old Norse friðr and German friede. In Old English usage, frith encompassed both personal inner peace and a broader social order in which people and property were safeguarded by mutual obligation and by the authority of the ruler.

Historically, frith underpinned the concept of keeping the peace within a community. Breaches of frith—violence, retaliation, or disorder—were seen as offenses against the entire community and were addressed through restitution, fines, or enforcement by the king’s peace. The term also carried a sanctuary function; certain places, notably churches, could offer frith, providing asylum from violence or legal pursuit.

In legal and diplomatic contexts, frith appears in Old English charters and laws as a formulation of communal duty to prevent chaos and to protect vulnerable individuals. The concept influenced later medieval notions of public order and the development of the “king’s peace.”

In modern scholarship, frith survives primarily as a historical and linguistic term. It appears in discussions of pre-Conquest English law and society and in analyses of place-names and surnames derived from the term. Its cognates across Germanic languages reflect a long-standing, cross-cultural idea of social order and safety.

Frith is often contrasted with vengeance or feuding in later medieval England, illustrating shifts in how communities defined and enforced peace over time.