What describes a legal revenge system where families could retaliate after a murder?

• A. Blood Feuds
• B. Fyrd
• C. Geld Tax
• D. Housecarls

Answer: (A)

Blood feud describes a system in which kin groups have the right, or at least the expectation, to avenge a murder by retaliating against the killer or their family. This creates a sanctioned cycle of vengeance tied to family ties and social obligations, a dynamic that legal codes in early Anglo-Saxon and Germanic societies sometimes recognized. The aim of such a system was to restore balance or honor through retaliation, though medieval law often sought to steer this toward monetary compensation (to reduce ongoing violence) rather than private vendetta. The other terms refer to military or financial roles: fyrd is the community levy for defense, geld (geld tax) is a tax, and housecarls are royal household troops; none of these describe the family-driven revenge mechanism itself.