Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest

• Anglo-Saxon society was hierarchical
• The earls were the most powerful lords and owned huge areas of land
• There were usually no more than six earls
• The earls were the kings advisors, ensured the kings laws were enforced in their regions and raised men for the kings army
• Peasants were over 70 percent of the population
• Ceorls were roughly 10 percent of the population
• Ceorls owned their own small area of farmland
• Thegns were nobles but less powerful than earls
• Thegns were primarily warriors who defended the king
• In return for defending the king Thegns were granted land
• Slaves were around 10 percent of the population, they were not free and had no land
• The kings most important tasks were to defend his country from attack, to pass good laws and to make sure the laws were obeyed
• The Witan did not have regular meetings or a regular membership
• The four main earldoms were Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia
• The king appointed a local thegn as sheriff for the shires and the hundreds
• Sheriffs were expected to:

  • Collect taxes and fines due to the king
  • Raise soldiers for the royal army whenever they were needed
  • Carry out justice in the kings shire-court
• The hundreds were sub-divisions of shires
• Hundreds each contained around 12 villages
• Each hundred had its own reeve who held a hundred-court each month to deal with less serious crimes
• The wergild was a fine paid to the victims of crime or their families as compensation
• A small number of serious crimes carried the death penalty, such as treason against the king or betraying your lord
• Anglo-Saxon kings created a self-help system known as a tithing
• Every male over the age of twelve joined a tithing
• A tithing was a group of ten men that were responsible for each others behaviour, if one broke the law the others had to bring him to court or pay a fine.
• The Anglo-Saxons used two types of trial, trial by jury and trial by ordeal
• In trial by jury, the jury consisted of men who knew both the accuser and the accused
• The Witan was a group of the most powerful nobles in the country as well as high-ranking churchmen
• An earl was responsible for overseeing the government in his own earldom
• Farming was vital to a village's economy
• Towns were centres of business and commerce. A wider variety of people lived in towns.
• Anglo-Saxon craftsmen were famous for creating products using materials like gold and textiles.
• Before 1066 the Church played an important role in Anglo-Saxon society and its influence over ordinary people was already growing.
• The Anglo-Saxon church was split up into sixteen large areas called dioceses, each one controlled by a bishop.
• By 1066 these dioceses were starting to be divided into smaller areas called parishes.
• The Church held influence over the nobility, as well as over ordinary people
• The king and his nobles gave churches gifts of land and precious object and helped to protect them from violence and robbery, this was called patronage.
• The nobility sometimes sent their second-born sons to train as priests which helped the Church to grow
• Nobles tried to control the appointment of bishops, abbots and priests so that they could give these valuable, influential posts to their relatives and followers.
• In 1018 Godwin became the Earl of Wessex
• In 1042, Godwin backed Edwards claim to the throne - a few years later Edward married Godwin's daughter. This added to Godwins power and influence.