Anglo-Saxon and Normans

• Almost everyone farmed land to make a living
• Structure of Saxon society

  • Elite aristocracy at the top
  • Peasants renting land from their lord
  • Slaves at the bottom
• Ceorls


  Peasants who were free to go and work for another lord if they wanted to, but they still had to work for their local lord too
• 10% of Saxon society were slaves, they were treated like property and did not face the same punishments for crimes as non-slaves as this might stop them being able to do their job
• Slavery was a normal part of Saxon society, the Normans did not keep slaves
• Thegns


  The local lords, the social elite, living in a manor house with a tower and Church, they held land more than five times that of the peasants. Their main job was to be warriors
• Heriot tax


  Thegns had to own battle equipment like a horse, helmet and a sword and spear
• Top of Saxon society

  • King
  • Earls
• The relationship between King and Earl was based on trust, but earls would often compete to be the one the King trusted the most – as this would make them more powerful
• Sometimes earls were powerful enough to even challenge the King as they controlled vast areas of land and many men
• In Anglo-Saxon England it was possible to move up the social hierarchy
• Peasant becoming a Thegn


  If a Peasant earnt enough to buy five 'hides' of land and paid the taxes he owed, then he could become a Thegn
• Slaves could be freed by their masters, and desperate peasants could sell themselves into slavery to feed their families
• Earls could be demoted to Thegns and Thegns could be promoted to Earls
• Anglo-Saxon society was constantly on its guard to protect its land from enemies such as the Vikings and the Welsh and Scottish
• Powers of the King

  • Making new laws
  • Controlling money production
  • Giving and taking land from his friends and enemies
  • Raising an army and navy
  • Setting tax rates
• Responsibilities of the people

  • To obey the King's law
  • Using only the King's coins
  • Paying tax to the King and serving in his armed forces
  • Landowners had to provide soldiers/weapons for the king's armed forces
  • Landowners had to pay their taxes
• The King's main role was to protect his people from attack and give them laws to maintain safety and security
• In return for protection, the people of England owed him service; boys aged 12 would swear an oath of loyalty (promise)
• Shire reeve


  The King's official in each 'shire' or county
• Military power was what gave Saxon Kings their authority – they were able to buy loyalty by rewarding their followers with pieces of conquered land
• Defeat in battle could spell disaster for the King
• Edward the Confessor


  Respected law maker, very religious, believed to be chosen by God
• Saxon England was split in half: Half was controlled completely by the Saxons, but the other half was Anglo-Viking (the Vikings had previously conquered this land in the North and east of England)
• The 'Danelaw' was the part of England controlled by the Anglo-Vikings, the people there accepted Edward as King but were fiercely independent, with their own local laws and traditions, and this often made them difficult to control
• Earl Godwin of Wessex


  The biggest threat to Edward's power, very rich, owning so much land he was as wealthy as the King, could summon an Army far stronger than the King's
• In 1050, a foreign ambassador (representative of a king) was attacked whilst in Dover, and Edward order Earl Godwin to punish the local people responsible – Godwin refused
• Edward, with the help of two other earls called Siward of Northumbria and Leofric of Mercia, forced Godwin into exile (forced out of England)
• A year later Godwin asked to return and to have his land restored to him, Edward had no choice but to accept as a war would have started
• The Witan


  A council that advised the king on issues of government, it was made up of the most important aristocrats in the land
• The Witan discussed: Possible threats from foreign powers, religious issues, arguments about land and how to settle these
• The Witan also was responsible for approving a new King
• The King did not have to follow the Witan's advice, and he got to decide who was in the Witan and when it should meet
• Earldoms


  England was split up into 'earldoms' each controlled by the most powerful family in that area – these families would have similar powers to the King so that they could rule on his behalf
• The earls in charge of each earldom collected taxes, keeping 33% for themselves (this money was supposed to spent on defence and the economy)
• They oversaw justice and punishments, which meant they had a big influence on peoples' lives
• They were in charge of raising an army for the King, by commanding hundreds of Thegns. They also maintained an elite body guard called 'housecarls' who were professional soldiers
• England was a collection of 'powerbases' each controlled by a wealthy family, the King did his best to keep them all onside
• Each Earldom was split up further into 'shires'. Each Shire had its own court, its own reeve, its own capital town which was fortified (armed) called a 'burgh', its own collection of troops who could be called up by the king to form an army called the 'fyrd'
• Hundreds


  Shires were divided into 'hundreds', and 'hundreds' were divided into 'tithings' (groups of ten households, each represented by a man)