HOMICIDE, the general and neutral term for the killing of one human being by another. The nature of the responsibility of the slayer to the State and to the relatives of the slain has been one of the chief concerns of all systems of law from the earliest times, and it has been variously considered from the points of view of the sanctity of human life, the interests of the sovereign, the injury to the family of the slain and the moral guilt, i.e., the motives and intentions of the slayer.
In England under the Norman system homicide became a plea of the Crown, and the rights of the kindred to private vengeance and to compensation were gradually superseded in favour of the right of the king to forfeitures where the homicide amounted to a crime (felony). Though homicide was thus made a public of fence and not a matter for private vengeance, it took long to dis criminate between those forms of homicide which should and those which should not be punished. The terms in English law used to describe criminal homicide are murder, manslaughter and f elo de se (or suicide by a person of sound mind).
After the Conquest, and for the protection of the ruling race, collections of homilies had obtained considerable popularity, but in the time of that emperor these had suffered so many mutila tions and corruptions that an authoritative revision was felt to be imperatively necessary. The result was the well-known Homiliarium, prepared by Paul Warnefrid, otherwise known as Paulus Diaconus (q.v.) . It consists of 176 homilies arranged in order for all the Sundays and festivals of the ecclesiastical year; and probably was completed before the year 780. Though written in Latin, its discourses were doubtless intended to be delivered in the vulgar tongue ; the clergy, however, were often too indolent or too ignorant for this, although by more than one provincial council they were enjoined to exert themselves so that they might be able to do so. Hence an important form of literary activity came to be the translation of the homilies approved by the church into the vernacular. Thus we find Alfred the Great translating the homilies of Bede ; and in a similar manner arose Aelfric's Anglo-Saxon Homilies and the German Homiliarium of Ottfried of Weissenburg. Such Homiliaria as were in use in England down to the end of the century were at the time of the Ref orma tion eagerly sought for and destroyed, so that they are now ex tremely rare, and the few copies which have been preserved are generally in a mutilated or imperfect form.
The books of Homilies referred to in the xxxvth Article of the Church of England originated at a convocation in at which it was agreed to make certain homilies "for stay of such errors as were then by ignorant preachers sparkled among the people." After some delay a volume was published in 1547 called Certain Sermons, or Homilies, appoynted by the Kynges Maiestie to be declared and redde, by all Parsones, Vicars, or Curates, euery Soday in their Churches, where thei haue cures. A second book of Homilies was issued in 1563, called The Seconde Tome of Homel yes, of such matters as were promysed and Instituted in the former part of Homelyes, set out by the aucthoritye of the Queues Maiestie: And to be read in eurey paryshe Churche agreablye. Of the 12 homilies in the first book, Nos. i and 3-5 are by Cranmer, No. 6 by Bonner, No. 2 by Nicholas Harpsfield, No. i i by Thomas Becon. The authorship of the rest is uncertain : 8 and 9 may be by Ridley and 12 by Latimer. Of the original 20 in the second book, Nos. 15, 16, 19 are probably by Jewel; No. 4 by Grindal; Nos. 5, 6 by Pilkington; others are derived from other sources; e.g., io from Erasmus' Paraclesis, etc. ; 14 from Tavern er's Epistles, etc. No. 21 was added by convocation in 1571. The two books were combined in Certain Sermons or Homilies ap pointed to be read in Churches (London, 1623). See J. Griffiths, The two books of Homilies (Oxford, 1859) ; J. T. Tomlinson, Prayer Book, Articles and Homilies (London, 1897) .