The Origins of Honor in Slavery

The value of a slave is that of the honor that has been extracted from them. At first sight it might seem strange that the honor of a nobleman or king should be measured in slaves, since slaves were human beings whose honor was zero. But if one's honour is ultimately founded on one's ability to extract the honour of others, it makes perfect sense. The text specifies that whoever draws blood from an abbot of any one of those principal seats before mentioned, let him pay seven pounds and a female of his kindred to be a washerwoman as a disgrace to the kindred. She was in effect reduced to slavery. Her permanent disgrace was the restoration of the abbot's honor.