Anglo Saxon and Norman England Booklet— 1.1 Anglo-Saxon Society Anglo-Saxon Society 1.1

Social System: Peasant Farmers

 Majority of Anglo-Saxons were peasant farmers.

 Peasants did a set amount of work for the local lord as well as work- ing the land to support themselves and their family.  If they did not work for the lord the lord could take away their land.

 ‘Ceorls’ peasants were free to go work for another lord if they wanted to. Slaves

 10% of Anglo-Saxons were slaves.

 Slaves could be bought and sold, and treated more like property than people.

 The Normans thought that owning slaves was barbaric, but it was a normal part of Anglo-Saxon life. Thegns

 Thegns were local lords, there were between 4,000 and 5000 Thegns.

 Thegns was an important man in the local community and lived in a manor house with a separate church.

Task Colour in the pie chart to represent the so- cial structure of Anglo-Saxon England. Earls

 Earls were the most important men after the king. The relation- ship between the king and his earls was based on loyalty.

 The king trusted the earl more he would give him greater re- wards.

 However, sometimes the earls challenged the king to get more power.

The Power of the English Monarchy

The king’s role was to protect his people from attack and give them laws to maintain safety and security at home. In return, the people of England owed him service. Every boy swore an oath when he reached the age of 12 to be faithful to the king. Limits to the kings power

 Edward the Confessor problem was the Earl of Wessex. Wessex was the richest earldom of England and Godwin and his family were as rich as the king.

 Godwin military capabilities was also far greater than the kings. Government The Witan

The Witan was a council that advised the king on issues of government it was made up of the most important aristocrats of the kingdom, including earls and archbishops. It discussed;

 Possible threats from foreign powers

 Religious affairs

 Land disputes and how to settle them The king did not have to follow the Witan’s advise.

Task– two sides to every coin.

List the Powers of King Limits of the kings Power ______Earldoms What powers did earls have? In order to aid the king in governing the country the earls, were given many of the powers of the king;

 They were responsible for collecting taxes of their earldom and they received a share of the revenue collected.

 They oversaw justice and legal punishments in their earldom.

 They had military powers, such as; elite bodyguard and professional soldiers called housecarls. Therefore the king used his earls and generals like they were his military leader against the king’s ene- mies. Limits to the earls powers?

 Earls powers relied on the support of thegns in their earldom.

 An example of this is Earl Tostig lost his earldom and went into exile after protests from his thegns. Local government Earldoms were divided into shires. Each shire had four functions;

 Social: each shire had its own court for trying cases and giving pun- ishments.

 Political: the shire reeve acted s the king’s representative in the shire.

 Economic: each shire had a burh (fortified town) as its main adminis- trative and trading centre.

 Military: each shire provided troops for the fyrd. Shire reeves The shire reeves, or sheriffs, were the king’s local government officials. Their duties included;

 Collecting revenues from the king’s land

 Collecting the geld tax (a tax on land, it went to the king)

 Collecting fines from the shire court

 Enforcing and witnessing the law at the shire court Earldoms What powers did earls have? In order to aid the king in governing the country the earls, were given many of the powers of the king;

 They were responsible for collecting taxes of their earldom and they received a share of the revenue collected.

 They oversaw justice and legal punishments in their earldom.

 They had military powers, such as; elite bodyguard and professional soldiers called housecarls. Therefore the king used his earls and generals like they were his military leader against the king’s ene- mies. Limits to the earls powers?

 Earls powers relied on the support of thegns in their earldom.

 An example of this is Earl Tostig lost his earldom and went into exile after protests from his thegns. Local government Earldoms were divided into shires. Each shire had four functions;

 Social: each shire had its own court for trying cases and giving pun- ishments.

 Political: the shire reeve acted s the king’s representative in the shire.

 Economic: each shire had a burh (fortified town) as its main adminis- trative and trading centre.

 Military: each shire provided troops for the fyrd. Shire reeves The shire reeves, or sheriffs, were the king’s local government officials. Their duties included;

 Collecting revenues from the king’s land

 Collecting the geld tax (a tax on land, it went to the king)

 Collecting fines from the shire court

 Enforcing and witnessing the law at the shire court Military Service—the fyrd When the call came from the king , each group of five hides was obliged to provide one man for the fyrd. There were two types of fyrd;

 The select fyrd gathered men to fight anywhere in England for the king.

 The general fyrd gathered men to fight who didn’t travel outside their local area

 The select fyrd was made up of thegns and their followers. The thegns probably trained together and well well-equipped with weap- ons, armour and horses.

 The fyrd could only be used for a fixed 40 day period because many men needed to return home to harvest their land.

Task— Complete the Jigsaw

What I learnt about; What I learnt about; What I learnt about; What powers did the Limits to the earls powers Local government earls have?

What I still found hard and words I don’t understand

What I learnt about; What I learnt about; Shire reeves Military service The Legal System The king and the law

 The king was the law maker, issuing laws to fulfil his role of keeping the peace.

 The people of England looked to the king to provide peace.

 The people also expected the king to provide justice and to treat everyone if the same social standing in the same way. Blood feuds and Wergild

 Traditionally, if a family member was attacked then the rest of the family would find the person and punish them. This led to blood feuds. The solution to blood feud problem was Wergild. Wergild was;

 Instead of taking revenge , the murder’s family had to pay compen- sation to the victims family.

 The Wergild system showed fairness in Anglo-Saxon society as it so- cial standing had the same value; a ceorl was worth 20shillings, a thegn was worth 1,200 shillings and an earl or archbishop was worth 3,600 shillings. Collective responsibility

 When a crime was committed it was the duty of all members of a tith- ing to hunt for the criminal: this was called ‘hue and cry’.

 The men of the tithing were also responsible for the good behaviour of their ten households, if someone had done something wrong they needed to pay a fine.

 If one person misbehaved their was consequences for the whole tith- ing.

The Ordeals The ordeals was a method of trail were the accused had to past dan- gerous tests to prove their innocence. The person undergoing this meth- od was usually someone who had often committed crimes or a person who had lied under oath. It was also used if the jury could not reach a decision. The 6 ordeals (tests) were;

 Ordeal by fire: The accused had to hold a burning hot rod and walk 3 paces with it. Their hand would then be bandaged up and checked 3 days later. If the wound was healing he was innocent as God was helping him. If it had got worse it was a sign of guilt

 Ordeal by Combat: If two people were accused they would have to have a battle. The winner was seen as receiving support from God and therefore innocent

 Ordeal by Cold Water: The accused was tied up by his wrists to his ankles. He was then thrown into a deep lake. If he sank it was a sign of innocence. If he floated it was seen to be the devil pushing him up and he was therefore guilty. – Mostly used on Slaves

 Ordeal by Hot Water: The accused had to put their arm in boiling water. It would then be band- aged up and checked 3 days later. If the wound was healing he was innocent as God was help- ing him. If it had got worse it was a sign of guilt

 Ordeal by Bier: An accused murderer was taken to see the corpse 3 days after the murder. If the body was still bleeding it was a sign from God of guilt

 Ordeal by Sacrament: Accused Priests would have to eat a certain Task—Murder Spree I have murdered;

 7 Cerorls

 3 Thegns and

 1 Earl and Archbishop How many shillings would my family have to pay in compensation. ______

Match the Ordeal to the Punishment

Life in Anglo-Saxon England Towns

 By the end of Edward’s reign in 1066, roughly 10% of the population of England lived in towns.

 Each shire had a main town, that could be used for safety if a Viking raiding party was spotted.

 These burhs (towns) had strong walls and guarded by men from the tower. Towns and Trade

 The burhs were also trading hubs.

 The king demanded that all trade over a set value be done in a town so that the money made from the trade could be taxed.

 Towns often grew in importance by how many trade links they had. For example London was the biggest trading hub because it had links with Germany, France, Normandy and Flanders. Villages

 Villages were a large number of isolated homes and farms scattered across the countryside.

 The houses were made of wood and thatched with straw.

 Most thegns lived in the countryside. Their manor houses were larg- er and better built. Thegns often built a church on their land and em- ployed a priest to hold services. The Influence of the Church The Church

 The English Church was traditionally-minded, resistant to reform, and it focused on Anglo-Saxon saints as well as older Celtic saints.

 These saints were often linked to a local area and were saints that people felt were part of their everyday lives.

 The Church was organised into large areas, each controlled by a bishop. Bishops

 Bishops were often rich, important people.

 They served on the Witan as the king’s advisers.

 Some Norman sources show English Bishops as being corrupt, such as selling Church jobs for profit. Religion

 Religion in Anglo-Saxon England was an important part of everyday life.

 The influence of the church was very strong and people were worried about what would happen to them once they died.

 Everyone believed that they would spend time in the afterlife being punished for their sins , and participating in religious activity and prayer provided a way for people to reduce this period of punish- ment.

Task– Mind-Map

Church

Influence of the Church

Religion

Bishops

Task– Keyword Word Search

S G U W R E J V H W N O H T L

A E R G T S V T Z O Q F J I Z X C D Y U A A E Z S S M C T T T N V I H O G T E Z D F G H U

F Y F R H P S C E R U V B I Z N O X A S O L G N A E Z K N R M T N G D C R J L D F R V G H M S H Q R Z A L S W D B I S J S L O R E C E T T U O E R H G J X D V X Q J K V H O G I E S G M Q Q K H V N N T L F L H X H O U S E C A R L S B D T U A J V K U O S O E B P T F S G Z I V V T U C E L T A N K Q X E F Y R D G U J D X O J L R T X

Keywords

Anglo-Saxon: People who had settled in England after the Romans had left Britain. They came from different parts of what is now Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Hides: The measurement used for land in Anglo-Saxon and Norman England. One hide was about 120 acres: the amount needed for a family to support themselves Cerols: ‘Free’ peasant farmers not tied to their land. Earls: Highest Anglo-Saxon aristocracy. The word came from the Dan- ish ‘jarl’ and meant a chieftain who ruled a region on behalf of the king. Oath: A solemn promise to do something. Anglo-Saxon swore oaths on holy relics to make them especially binding. Shire reeve: An official of the king: his sheriff. Sheriffs managed the king’s estates, collected revenue for him and were in charge of local courts Housecarls: Highly-trained troops that stayed with their lord wherev- er he went; a bodyguard.. Fyrd: The men of the Anglo-Saxon army and fleet. Every five hides provided one man for the fyrd. Tithings: An administrative unit that was a group of ten housecarls– originally equivalent to a tenth of a hundred in some areas. Geld tax: A tax on land, originally to pay off the Vikings. Blood feuds: A revenge system based on family loyalties and hon- our. If someone was killed, the victim’s family had the right to kill some- one from the murderer’s family, who then had the right to revenge them- selves, and so on.