the king and the earls

• what were 2 powers of the king?

  law making and landownership(he could take land or grant land to anybody)
• what was the witan?

  a council that advised the king
• what was a thegn

  local lord
• what could a thegn do

  complain to the king about the earls who governed an earldom badly
• who were the earls?

  the most important men in the country after the king
• what could earls do?

  • governed large areas
  • collected taxes from their earldom
  • judged cases
• what did earls do with the taxes they collected?

  kept 1/3 for governing and protecting their earldom
• what were advantages of edward the confessor

  • people believed god was guiding him
  • respected as a wise lawmaker
• what were disadvantages of edward the confessor?

  • no children to succeed him
  • struggled to keep control of earl godwin