Anglo saxon

• Who was king of England (1048-1066)

  Edward the Confessor
• What was good about England prior to 1066?

  England had a strong government as well as prosperous economy, boosted by extensive trade links across the North Sea
• Who were the Vikings and why were they feared?

  England had faced terrible threat for centuries from the vikings. These were Scandinavians who had raided settlements al along the coasts of Europe. In England these raids were often followed by invasions.

  
• Why the Vikings had a claim to the English thrown?


  The king before Edward the confessor was a Viking- Cnut
• What important piece of land had the Vikings taken over prior to 1066?

  Normandy
• How was Normandy now a threat to England?

  Viking settlers there had maintained there strong links to Scandinavia though becoming more like the french counterparts. Allowing Viking invaders the ability to form a major militarisation force there and take shelter in their harbours.
• The order of society was:

  1) The king- who made/set rules, ruled the country as well as fighting for it

  2) The earls- ruled areas of land, completed tasks such as tax collecting and were the kings advisors

  3) The theynes- thought for the king in return for land and completed tasks like guarding the earls whilst they were tax collecting

  4) The ceorls- free peasants who were able to work for anyone or have a small plot of lan to farm on

  5) The peasants- worked 3 days a week for their lord at their house, owned very small land to farm for family and would have to pay taxes

  7) The slaves- had no freedom and work/live rough in the lords house doing as the lord asked them to do


  The order of society of Anglo-Saxon England
• Though at birth you were place into one of the classes of society, you had the capability to go up or down in social status such as:

  1) A peasant/ceorl who prospered and owned 5 hides of land which he paid tax on could become a theyne

  2) Mercents who had made a number of trips abroad in their own ships could also become a theyne

  3) Slaves could be freed by their masters

  4) Peasants could sell themselves into slavery in a bid to feed their family

  5) Sometimes it could be decided that an earl be demoted to a theyne or vise versa

  6) If their was no heir to the thrown, then an earl may become king

  Changing social status in Anglo-Saxon society
• The part of England where Danish (Vikings) had been strongest allowing it to keep some of its Danish laws instead of some Anglo-Saxon ones. This was a substantial part of England from London to North Wales.

  The Danelaw

  
• The way to measure land - 1 of these = about 120 acres: amount a family needed to support themselves

  Hides
• An official visit by representatives of one ruler to another

  Embassy
• The people in a society who are as important because of their wealth and power, which they have often inherited from their parents and ancestors

  Aristocracy
• An official of the king: his sheriff. They would manage the kings estates collected revenue (taxes) for him and were Incharge of the local courts.

  Shire Reeves

  
• A solemn promise to something. Anglo-Saxons often swore on holy relics to they meant it. This was often a body part of a dead saint.

  Oath
• A legal revenge system where if someone was killed, the victim's family could kill someone from the murderer's family (who then could revenge themselves and so on).

  Blood feuds

  
• The men of the Anglo-Saxon army and fleet. Every 5 hides provided 1 man for this

  Fyrd
• A tax on land, originally to pay off the Vikings (Danegeld). It went to the king

  Geld tax

  
• Highly-trained troops (like professional soldiers) that stayed with their lord where ever he went; a bodyguard

  Housecarls
• A unit of land. In some areas it was the measurements of 100 hides but then again in others it wasn't

  Hundreds
• A group of 10 households (in some places originally a tenth of hundred)

  Tithings
• Some powers the monarchy of England had were:

  1) Law making- the king created new laws and made sure that they were enforced

  2) Money- the king controlled the production of silver pennies

  3) Landownership- the king owned large estates. He could grant land to his followers as well as take it away

  4) Military power- the king could raise a national army and fleet

  5) Taxation- the king decided if and when taxes should be paid. A national taxation system delivered tax to him


  Powers of the English monarchy in Anglo-Saxon times
• Some duties of the English people were:

  1) To obey all laws

  2) Use the kings coins- forging coins was a serious crime

  3) Pay tax and military service in exchange for land


  Duties of the English people in Anglo-Saxon times
• He was powerful as:

  1) He lead the army and had military backing

  2) He was a respected law maker

  3) He was very religious- people claimed that he had a connection to god


  Ways Edward the confessor was powerful
• He wasn't powerful as:

  1) Half off the country were no Anglo-Saxon but Anglo-Danish wanting a ruler of their own background

  2) Certain earls (Earl Godwin of Wessex) were as rich as the king due to having mass amount of land with a vast amount of theynes living 3) on it allowing for them to have military power capable of overthrowing the king

  4) Often had to do what earls said to avoid conflict and war, e.g. the enforcing of a law not being carried out


  Ways Edward the confessor wasn't powerful
• The main Church that controls monasteries of Christian beliefs stars with a ...

  Capital C
• A church run by the main Church starts with a ....


  Lowercase c

  
• A buhr was a trading post in a town where all trades worth a set amount should take place declared by the king. By 1060 London and York were the biggest towns in England with 10,000 people. As for new towns, they would form in places of a trade link; such as York being a trade hub with Denmark.


  Towns and trade in Anglo Saxon England
• Most Anglo-Saxon coins would come from Germany with the English giving products in return. They're also some examples of wine imported in from Normandy and wheat/mill stone from Denmark being taken to English shores.


  Products from other countries used in Anglo-Saxon England
• Wool and cloth would be produced in England. And in eastern England plants would be grown on the more farmable land than on the west as well as mill houses.

  Farming in Anglo-Saxon England
• Villagers were mainly large amounts of isolated houses and farms scattered over the country side. Houses would be made of wood and thatched straw, were more than one family would live in. Theynes would live in the country side in massive houses compared to peasants huts and would build a church and have a priest to carry out a service.


  Villages in Anglo-Saxon England
• By the end of Edward the confessor reign in 1066 10% of the population were living in towns. Buhrs were set less than 10-20 miles of places for safety in case of a Viking attack. They would be linked by roads to make it easier for troops to get to their. Strong walls and rampant were used to protect towns.

  Towns in Anglo-Saxon England
• The Anglo-Saxon church influenced the government (archbishops and some bishops were on the Witan) and everyone's lives. It was organised with 1 archbishop in York and 1 in Canterbury. The Church owned 25% of the land in England and was powerful and wealthy.


  How was the Anglo-Saxon church organised
• 15 bishops were incharge of a diocese or see. The bishops were incharge of local priests. There also many abbeys- monasteries and convents were monks and nuns live.


  What were the bishops incharge of in Anglo-Saxon England
• The monks and nuns would write books, produce tapestries and were educators but mainly they would pray.

  What did monks or nuns do in Anglo-Saxon England
• Anglo-Saxons were religious. They believed in heaven and in hell. They felt that God sent plagues, bad weather and decided if the harvest were to fail (people would starve if the harvest failed). Saints days, holy days such as Christmas and Easter were an important part of people's lives with feasting and games when people did not have to work.


  Anglo-Saxons and religious beliefs
• The last years of Edward the confessor went:

  1053- Death of Earl Godwin; Harold Godwinson become Earl of Wessex

  1055- Tostig Godwinson made Earl of Northumbria

  1057- The Earldom of East Anglia was given to Gryth Godwinson, Harold's teenage brother

  1057- A small Earldom in south-west Midlands went to Leofwine Godwinson- Harold's younger brother

  1062- The Godwins defeat the Welsh king Gruffuold of Llewelyn

  1064- Harold embassy to Normandy

  1065- Uprising against Earl Tostig; Tostig exiled

  1066- The death of Edward the Confessor; Harold Godwinson made king


  Timeline of the last year of Edward the Confessor
• How Godwins were made economically powerful

  They had extensive landholdings made the Godwin's very rich: Almost equal to the king in wealth
• The Godwins were lords of hundreds theynes, making them powerful war-leaders. Wessex was also Englands defence zone against attacks across the channel. Harold was also Earl of Hereford, often attacked from Wales. Holding these Earldom made Harold important.


  How the Godwins had military power
• The Godwins were influential in in the Church: the Godwins had convinced Edward to appoint Bishops who were loyal to them. The Godwins had made many political marriages: Edith Godwin to Knight Edward, Harold to the wife of Llewelyn and to Edith the fair of Mercia, Tostig to Judith of Flanders. The Danelaw permitted a man to have 2 wives.


  How Godwins were politically powerful
• Edward the Confessor allowed the Godwins to become so powerful by:

  1) Edward marrying Earl Godwin's daughter- making him kin to the Godwins

  2) England was under threat from Normandy- Edward was no a good fighter and required the help of Earls and theynes (like the Godwins) to help him as they were better at fighting than him


  Way Edward the Confessor allowed the Godwins to increase their power