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.