before 1066

• despite being a new country that had been recently invaded by Vikings, Anglo-Saxon England was a strong, centrally run country.
• England had only come together in 954AD and Vikings had only left in 1042. 
• English kings had a strong central control over the country. Land was divided into shires. Many had burhs ( fortified towns)
• Anglo-Saxon society was hierarchical. Apart from those at the top, very few had power. 
• The king had the most power and land.
• In 1042 Edward the Confessor had the throne. 
• The earls were the king's advisors. They gathered the fried in times of crisis and were members of the witan (like parlement)
• Below the earls were 5000 thegns who owned land and ran courts.
• The ceorls made up the majority. They were mostly peasants but some were skilled. 
• Thralls or slaves sat underneath and made up 10%
• Women were relatively free and could own land. ( they owned 5% of the country) and could divorce. 
• The Anglo-Saxon church was unique and arguably quite corrupt. 
• The roman catholic church brought Christianity to England in 597AD but some pagan beliefs (e.g. in elves and fairies) remained
• Unlike the rest of Europe which used Latin, some Anglo-Saxons had English bibles.
• There were some permanent church buildings, but ofteen people worshiped at stone crosses.
• There were many local saints in England. The catholic church did not approve of them. 
• Archbishop Stigand was archbishop to King Edward. He was accused of being corrupt and selling off church land (simony)
• The Alfred jewel was a reading aid. It shows skilled metalwork and that the Anglo axon was trading internationally as some metals were from the Middle East.
• The poem Beowulf ( 3000 lines long ) shows how the Anglo-Saxons had a strong culture of literature and storytelling. They were interested in myths and legends.
• The Anglo-SaxonChroniclee is a history book commissioned by Alred the Great and written by monks. It was quite one-sided.
• Anglo-Saxons had few stone buildings. Churches were the exception. Anglo-Saxon style was simplistic and square. Westminster Abby was an exception to this.