moral example in favour of the goldenness of silence and the danger of
letting the tongue feed the gallows.

Among other disgraceful acts, that make the offender infamous, but do
not necessarily involve public action:--

"Manslaughter in Breach of Hospitality".--Probably any gross breach of
hospitality was disreputable and highly abhorred, but "guest-slaughter"
is especially mentioned. The ethical question as to whether a man should
slay his guest or forego his just vengeance was often a "probleme du
jour" in the archaic times to which these traditions witness. Ingeld
prefers his vengeance, but Thuriswend, in the Lay cited by Paul the
Deacon, chooses to protect his guest. Heremod slew his messmates in his
wrath, and went forth alone into exile. ("Beowulf's Lay".)

"Suicide".--This was more honourable than what Earl Siward of
Northumberland called a "cow-death." Hadding resolves to commit suicide
at his friend's death. Wermund resolves to commit suicide if his son be
slain (in hopelessness of being able to avenge him, cf. "Njal's Saga",
where the hero, a Christian, prefers to perish in his burning house than
live dishonoured, "for I am an old man and little fitted to avenge my
sons, but I will not live in shame"). Persons commit suicide by slaying
each other in time of famine; while in England (so Baeda tells) they
"decliffed" themselves in companies, and, as in the comic little
Icelandic tale Gautrec's birth, a Tarpeian death is noted as the
customary method of relieving folks from the hateful starvation
death. It is probable that the violent death relieved the ghost or
the survivors of some inconveniences which a "straw death" would have
brought about.