anglo saxon england - normans (410-1066)

when did the Anglo Saxons rule Britain

449 AD - 1066 AD

why could Anglo-Saxon England be described as diverse

• contained a mixture of different people, cultures and beliefs

• Saxons were the most predominant group

• Original English people became the Welsh

when did England unite kingdoms into ‘England’

954 AD

who threatened England and when

• Vikings

• in the late 11th century

describe England by 1000 AD

• under Viking invasion - a period of conflict

• English kings had a strong central control over the country

• England had a hierarchal society

outline the position of women in Anglo-Saxon England

• most women were relatively free

• women had the right to leave their husbands

• women owned 5% of land

explain the inequality within Anglo Saxon England

• division was between slave and free

• free society were: kings, earls, thegns and ceorls

• social classes were differentiated primarily by wergild

• wergild was used as a basis for the value of a legal oath and the amount payable in compensation for homicide

• slaves had no wergild, as offences against them were taken to be as offences against their owners

describe the position of king in Anglo-Saxon England

• had the most power and influence, controlled justice

• expected to be a fighter

• wergild = 18,000 shillings

• had the most land in the kingdom

• the king had the ability to raise taxes

describe the position of earls in Anglo-Saxon England

• chief advisors to the king

• formed a parliament like group: Witan

• wergild = 4,800 shillings

describe the position of thegns in Anglo-Saxon England

• ruled local courts and collected taxes

• ~5000 thegns owned land

• wergild = 1,200 shillings

describe the position of ceorls in Anglo-Saxon England

• peasants - some were highly-skilled

• majority of the Anglo-Saxon population

• most had to pay rent to thegns

• wergild = 160 shillings

describe the position of thralls in Anglo-Saxon England

• slaves - 10% of the Anglo-Saxon population

• treated like animals and ‘owned’ by their masters

• people could sell their children into being thralls

• wergild = 0 shillings

describe the wergild

• division of people based on their cash value

• if a murderer could pay the wergild of their victim, they could avoid the death penalty

• if a woman was pregnant, her wergild increased by 50%

• women and men had the same wergild within the same social class

describe the position of the Housecarl in Anglo-Saxon England

• professional, well-trained household troops

• often used as bodyguards or infantry

describe Edward the Confessor

• son of King Ethelred (1002-1016) and Emma of Normandy

• married to Edith of Wessex, daughter of Earl Godwinson

  • the Godwinsons were the most powerful family in England

  • Edward the Confessor exiled the Godwinsons as they posed a threat to his rule

  • Edward was forced to let them return to stop the civil war

• was deeply religious - lived a life of chastity and spent a lot of time in Church

  • Edward rebuilt Westminster

• was not a warrior king - he relied on Earls, such as the Godwin’s, as a military power to protect England

• Edward was a respected law maker - he set up efficient government and tax systems

state Edward the Confessor’s strengths

• direct descendant of a previous monarch

• respected law maker

• marital ties to the most powerful family in England

• on good terms with the Catholic Church

state Edward the Confessor’s weakness

he wasn’t a fighter

describe the Alfred Jewel

• inscription: ‘Alfred ordered me to be made’

  • sponsored by King Alfred the Great

• cloisonné enamel

• rock crystal

• made of gold

• believed to have been a pointer for gospel readings

• portrays a figure, originally thought to have been St Cuthbert, now believed to be a figure representing the sense of sight (part of a collection of figures portraying senses)

describe marriage and separation rights for women

• women had the legal right to leave a husband who committed adultery

• cause for divorce was rare

describe property rights for women

• women had the legal right to own land until 1066

  • women owned 5% of land until 1066

describe the rights of women within religion

• sermons from the time accuse gangs of men of buying female slaves, raping them and selling them

• in double-monasteries, (where monks and nuns lived, worshipped and prayed together), the nuns were in charge

  • double-monasteries died out by 1000 AD

• there were laws that set out fines for any sexual harassment of women

  • eludes to a prevalence of sexual crimes against women at this time

describe the rights of women to work

• skeletons of lower class women suggest that they must have done a lot of hard labour

  • churning butter

  • chopping wood

  • working in the field at harvest

describe the rights of rich and powerful women

• upper class women did little work in the fields

• almost all women who earned land were related to earls

• upper class women were in charge of their household stores and money

• almost all written evidence about Anglo-Saxon women refers to higher status women

what does Judith’s gospel book tell us about Anglo-Saxon religions

• religion was prominent within 11th century English society

  • importance of and respect for religion is seen as these gospel books are encrusted with jewels and precious metals

• Church encouraged the growth of different forms of artistic industry

  • lots of craftsmanship went behind creating ornate Bibles for the wealthy

what was different about the Anglo-Saxon church

• Church was Catholic but was a centre for a mixture of different ideologies and decorations from different branches of Catholicism

• they used to vernacular language (English) in the Bible instead of Latin

  • this made the Christian faith more accessible

• the Church held more independence from the Pope - they defied the language barriers of Roman Catholicism

outline key beliefs of the Anglo Saxon Church

• some Saxon sermons criticised witchcraft and magic

  • this signifies the continued prevalence of paganism within 11th century England

  • also portrays that there was opposition to the Church

• other sermons were ‘normal’ and criticised sin and misbehaviour

• believed in Catholic Christianity

summarise the life of St Dunstan

• 960 AD - St Dunstan was Archbishop of Canterbury

• he wanted to improve religious education

• tried to deal with corruption within the Church

• rebuilt many monasteries, abbeys and churches

• he had a limited long term influence due to Viking raid and Danish monarchy

• 988 AD - St Dunstan was declared a saint after his death

why did the Anglo-Saxons have so many saints

• villages decided on saints

• the Pope wa

summarise Archbishop Stigand’s life

• antithesis of St Dunstan - he wasn’t particularly religious and was completely corrupt

• Stigand was the last Archbishop in England under the Saxons

• he committed pluralism (he held multiple appointments within the Church)

• he was accused of simony (he sold off positions within the Church to anyone willing to pay)

• Stigand ignored the Pope’s call to Rome

• Stigand had the support of Godwinson

• Stigand ignored poor education and ‘unsavoury’ marital statuses

describe the influence of the church

• The English Church was organised into large areas controlled by bishops, who were rich, important people.

•  Local priests were often quite ordinary people and not especially well-educated.

• Abbots and abbesses ran monasteries and nunneries, though the number of these was shrinking.

• Religion was an important part of everyday life because people worried about what would happen when they died. For example, Edward The Confessor devoted time to rebuilding Westminster Cathedral

outline Michael Wood’s view of Anglo-Saxon society

• period of violence and cruelty

• hierarchal society where most people were poor (ceorls)

• huge effort made by men and women to build just societies

• Try to transmit culture and learning and to create beauty

• Loyalty to the past

• A dream of Christian civilisation

describe the Fuller Brooch

• made of silver

• worn on cloaks

• detailed workmanship

• encases an image of a religious figure

• contains Celtic influences

describe Beowulf

• fictional literature

• included dragons, sword fighting and damsels

• continued influence of pagan ideas

describe the Anglo Saxon Chronicle

• historical literature - annalistic record of events

• contains a vast history of Saxon society

  • spans from the invasion of Britain by Caesar (55 BC) to the end of the Anglo-Saxon period

• demonstrates Saxons are obsessed with the past - where they came from etc.

• its creation is thought to be instigated by Alfred the Great - produced as part of his plan for educational reform

describe the Marvels of the East

• literature - tells Saxons about the world beyond Europe

• demonstrates the continued Saxon interest in the past and the unknown

• contains pagan ideas

describe St Peter’s Church Barton

• one of the few stone buildings created during Anglo-Saxon England

  • building in stone was strenuous and expensive - shows the significance of religion to the Anglo-Saxons

• architecture was blunt, sharp and bold

state the source of much of historians’ knowledge about EARLY Anglo-Saxon England

• Old English translation of ‘Ecclesiastical History of the English People’

• originally written in Latin

• written by English monk and historian: Bede (c.673-735)

1002

• King Ethelred II married Emma of Normandy

• Emma was the sister of the Duke of Normandy

1015

King Swein (Danish king) and his son Cnut began a campaign to take control of England

1016

• King Ethelred and his son Edmund Ironside died

• Cnut (already king of Denmark) became King of England

1042

Edward the Confessor, son of Ethelred II, became king of England

1043

Edward married Edith, daughter of Earl Godwin and sister of Harold Godwinson

1053

• Earl Godwin died

• his sons inherited his land

• Harold Godwinson became earl of Wessex, the richest earldom in England

1055

• Tostig Godwinson, Harold’s brother, became the earl of Northumbria

• this increased his family’s power and wealth

1057

• Edward the Confessor needed an heir

• some sources state Edward the Confessor convinced his nephew; Edward the Exile, to return from Hungary

• Edward the Exile soon died after returning to England but his son Edgar the Aethling lived in Edward the Confessor’s court

1064

• Edward the Confessor sent Harold Godwinson to Normandy to allegedly promise the throne to William the Conqueror

• some sources state Harold swore an oath to support William’s claim to the English throne

1065

• rebellion against Tostig rose in Northumbria

• Harold advised Edward the Confessor to remove Tostig from power

• Harold and Tostig became enemies