bjargkviðr

m. a law term, a verdict of acquittal given by five neighbours for the defendant, proving an alibi or the like, and produced during the trial; the b. seems to be, in its strict sense, synonymous with heimiliskviðr or heimiskviðr, q. v., cp. Grág, i. 60, 61, where it is defined; fimm búar skulu skilja um bjargkviðu alla, heimilis-búar þess manns er sóttr er, nema …, vide also 48, 49, 53, 55, 56, etc.