Anglo Saxon England

• The Vikings were known as the Norsemen, which means 'North men'
• The Anglo-Saxon rulers, known as thegns, were military leaders who were also expected to be agricultural producers, as well as defenders of their kingdoms.
• Vikings came from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway & Sweden)
• Anglo-Saxon England was divided into seven kingdoms at different times: Northumbria, Mercia, Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, and Anglia.
• The Viking raiders came from Scandinavia (modern day Denmark, Norway and Sweden) and they travelled across the North Sea on longships.
• In AD865, King Alfred was forced to pay tribute to the Danes so that he could keep his throne.
• Monarch means king.
• The king was the most powerful person in Anglo-Saxon England.
• The king had to defend England from attacks, protect the Church and ensure there was peace and fair trials.
• The king was wealthy, as he received taxes and owned land.
• The king could decide when to call up the army and was in charge of minting money.
• The king made laws, which he communicated to his officials in ‘writs’ with his seal attached.
• The king was assisted by a group of advisors, including bishops, archbishops and earls, known as the Witan; he didn’t have to listen to their advice.
• England was divided into earldoms, such as Wessex and Northumbria, run by powerful earls.
• Earls were supposed to be loyal to the king and to keep law and order in their earldom.
• Earls were rich, as they kept 1/3 of the taxes they collected.
• Earls owned lots of land and acted as the king’s generals in the army.
• Earls were part of the Witan.
• England was divided into regions to make it easy to collect taxes and enforce laws.
• Ten families were grouped into a tithing to sort out small problems, like drunkenness.
• Ten tithings were grouped into a hundred to deal with issues such as theft and to ensure taxes were paid.
• Shires were made up of several hundreds and had courts to try more serious cases.
• The shire reeve enforced law and order, maintained roads and fortifications, and collected taxes.
• The Wergild was a payment to stop blood feuds.
• Punishments for crimes in Anglo-Saxon England included fines and mutilation, such as having a hand cut off.
• The social system in Anglo-Saxon England was top-heavy, with the monarch and earls at the top, then thegns, ceorls, peasants, and slaves at the bottom.
• Anglo-Saxon England was well-organised and wealthy, making money from wool, cloth and pottery.
• About 90% of people in Anglo-Saxon England lived in villages, where there would be a church.
• About 10% of people in Anglo-Saxon England lived in towns called ‘burhs’, which had fortified walls to protect people from attacks.
• High-value trade in Anglo-Saxon England had to be done in the burhs, so it could be taxed.
• York and London were the biggest burhs in Anglo-Saxon England.
• The influence of the Church was significant in Anglo-Saxon England.
• Earl Godwin had become a powerful earl in the time of King Cnut.
• The Church was wealthy and powerful.
• Edgar the Atheling was the 14-year-old great nephew of Edward the Confessor.
• Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, claimed that his father had been promised the throne by a previous king of England.
• Earl Harold Godwinson claimed that Edward had promised him the throne as he was dying.
• William claimed that Harold had been sent to Normandy in order to promise to support William’s claim to the English throne, and that Harold swore an oath on holy relics about this.
• King Edward died on 5th January 1066.
• William also said that in 1064 Harold Godwinson had gone on an embassy to Normandy, been blown off course, captured, and rescued by William.