anglo-saxon and normans

• England, c1060–88
• The king and the earls


  The king was the most powerful person in the land, but granted some of his power to earls who governed large areas of England on his behalf
• The Witan


  • It was a council that advised the king, but the king decided who was appointed, what they should advise on, and did not have to follow their advice
• Earls


  • They were granted powers to collect taxes, oversee law and order, and lead the king's armies in their earldoms
• Edward the Confessor


  He was respected as a religious and wise leader, but struggled to control powerful earls and had no heir
• Powers of the king


  • Law-making
  • Money
  • Taxation
  • Religion
  • Landownership
  • Fyrd
• Only the king made new laws, and everyone had to obey them
• The king controlled the minting and distribution of coins
• The king decided when a tax was paid and how much it should be
• The king was chosen by God to lead his people
• The king could grant land to loyal followers, or take it away in punishment
• The king could raise the fyrd army and fleet
• The shire reeve (sheriff)


  • He was the king's representative in local government
• Divisions of Anglo-Saxon England


  • Shires
  • Hundreds
  • Tithings
  • Hides
• Shires


  An earldom was divided up into shires
• Hide


  An area of land covering about 120 acres
• Ceorls


  Peasant farmers
• Fyrd


  The men of the Anglo-Saxon army and fleet
• Writ


  Written orders from the king, with a royal seal to prove it was official
• Strengths of local government


  • Depended on everyone in the community knowing each other very well
• Weaknesses of local government


  • Powerless to prevent powerful men (like earls) from breaking the law
• Features of law and order


  • Collective responsibility
  • Hue and cry
  • Wergild
  • Trial by ordeal
  • Treason and the death penalty
• If one member of a tithing broke the law, the rest were responsible for bringing him to court or would be punished themselves
• Anyone in the community could call on all the others to help them track down a criminal, and the sheriff could also call on the community in the same way
• Wergild was compensation paid to avoid blood feud
• Trial by ordeal was when God was asked to judge cases where community courts could not decide
• Treason was a very serious crime, with the death penalty imposed by the king
• Responsibilities of the shire reeve


  • To collect revenues from the king's land
  • To collect the geld tax
  • To collect fines from the shire court
  • To judge cases and witness the king's laws being enforced
  • To make sure men are provided for the fyrd and that defences are well-maintained
• The geld tax was the tax levied on land, which Edward the Confessor only rarely levied
• The shire reeve judged at the shire court
• The shire reeve was responsible for the defences of the shire
• The administration of Anglo-Saxon England was based on the hide, with obligations like providing men for the fyrd
• Anglo-Saxon social classes


  • Thegns
  • Ceorls
  • Slaves
• Thegns


  The Anglo-Saxon warrior/noble class with five hides of land or more, who were expected to serve their lord in battle
• Ceorls


  Most depended on thegns for land and work, though some were freer
• Slaves


  Treated as property, people who could be bought and sold
• Out of a population of 2 million in 1060, only 4000–6000 were nobles (thegns), 9.7% were slaves, and the rest were peasant farmers (ceorls)
• Peasant farmers could become thegns if they did well and acquired more than five hides of land, while those who did badly might have to sell themselves into slavery
• Key features of the Anglo-Saxon Church


  • Bishops were rich and important, controlling large districts
  • The Witan always included important bishops
  • The Church provided all the king's clerks and record-keepers
  • Most local priests were not well educated and were married
  • Monks and nuns farmed the land like ordinary people
  • The Church was resistant to reforms from Europe
• There was a good climate for farming, especially in the south and east for crops and in the west for livestock