Statutes of liberty

In the 10th century, a Welsh king presided over legislation that recognised women's rights, offered consumer protection and removed physical punishments. Malcolm Smith tells the story of some of the most progressive laws ever to be enacted

- Malcolm Smith tells the story of some of the most progressive laws ever to be enacted

It's the pub-quiz question that no one would ever get right. Which medieval nation permitted no-blame divorce, provided a form of consumer protection, and offered illegitimate children the same inheritance rights as their legitimate siblings? Stumped? Scratching your head? Let me put you out of your misery. The answer, you might be surprised to learn, is Wales. It was here, nearly 11 centuries ago, that arguably the most liberal laws ever sanctioned by a state were codified. Such was the staying power of this remarkable raft of legislation that these laws then remained in force for more than 500 years.

The king under whom the laws were enacted was Hywel Dda - Howel the Good.

There's every chance that you haven't heard of him, but he is certainly worthy of your attention. Well educated, and fluent in Latin, Welsh and English, Hywel ruled virtually the whole of Wales as 'King of all Wales' from 942-50. Crucially, he succeeded in maintaining peace with the English kings, albeit controversially, by submitting to them. Despite this, Hywel minted his own silver pennies - probably the only Welsh prince to have done so - and was sufficiently independent to introduce the remarkable array of laws that came to bear his name.

These laws stand out from those in other 10th-century kingdoms in a number of ways among them their progressive approach to divorce and willingness to recognise women's rights, at least partially.

Underpinning all of the laws is the principle that, rather than have physical punishment inflicted on them, perpetrators of crimes should pay compensation to their victims.