Anglo Saxon
government
the witan
the witan was the council that advised the king, made up of important people like earls and bishops. it discussed threats, and disputes, and had a large role in choosing the new king.
although the king decided
- whether or not to follow the witans advice
- when the witan met
- who was on the witan
- what they would advise him on
earldoms
the earls governed large areas of England on the king’s behalf and were given many of his powers to help run the country.
- they collected taxes (kept a third of what they collected so were very rich)
- in charge of justice and legal punishments in their earldom
- they had great military power. each earl had a group of highly trained soldiers called housecarls
earls depended on the support of thegns in their earldom.
local government
the country was divided into earldoms that were controlled by an earl.
each earldom was divided into shires, overseen by a shire reeve.
shire reeves carried out the king’s instructions in each shire. they collected fines, enforced the law, provided men for the fyrd and maintained roads and defences. they also collected the geld tax
every shire was divided into hundreds (hundred hides of land)
each hundred was divided into tithings (groups of ten households)
a hide was a measurement of land equal to about 120 acres.
the fyrd was the army made up of one man from every five hides
the select fyrd was made up of well-equipped thegns and their followers. their service was a 40-day period as they couldn’t leave their farms for too long.
legal system
blood feuds were grudges between families which often lasted generations. if someone was killed the victim’s family had the right to kill someone from the murderous family.
the wergild system meant instead of taking revenge the victim’s family received compensation from the murderer’s family. a coerl was 20 shillings, a thegn was 1200 shillings and an earl/archbishop was 3600 shillings.
the social system
- the ^^king^^ was the most powerful person in anglo Saxon England. his job was to protect his people from attack and make laws.
- ^^earls^^ were the most important men after the king. the area of the country controlled by an earl was called earldom
- ^^thegns^^ were local lords that lived in a manor house and held more than 6 hides of land. thegns had a duty to provide men for the fyrd when needed.
- ^^peasants^^ made up most of the population. they worked for their local lord. coels were free to go and work for another lord if they wanted to but still had to do some work for their local lord too
- ^^slaves^^ made up 10% of the population and were viewed more as property than people. owning slaves was a normal part of life for anglo Saxons but normans thought it was cruel.
why were the godwin’s so powerful?
leadership
the godwin’s were lords to many hundreds of thegns. this made them powerful war leaders.
land
the godwin’s had a lot of land making them almost as rich as the king
church influence
the Godwins convinced Edward to appoint bishops who were loyal to them
political links
Edith Godwin married king Edward and Harold married Edith of Mercia
military success
the Godwin’s main rival was aelfar earl of Mercia who teamed up with the welsh king. after aelfgar died Harold and tostig defeated Llywelyn.
changes in society
anglo Saxon to ^^Norman society^^
slaves made up around 10 % of the population
^^normans thought slavery was wrong and freed the slaves^^
peasants made up about 90 % of the population
^^feudalism bound peasants to the lords. norman lords even worked peasant farmers harder^^
changes to government
the church
- it was easier to control the church because William owned all church land and power was centralised through lanfrancs reforms
the earls
- earldoms were reduced in size and the number of them reduced. power was moved from earls to sheriffs
feudal system
- everyone who worked on the land depended on the king
Domesday book
- provided a guide to what the king’s tenants In chiefs were worth and what the king could expect to earn from them
economy
- king gained revenue through the geld tax and reliefs which helped ensure more loyalty from his tenants in chief
knights in service
- all troops owed their loyalty to the king and no one else
crown land
William kept far more land than the kings before him in the form of royal demesne and forest
battle at gate Fulford
Morcar and Edwin gathered an army to defend the north whilst Harold guarded the south. Harald hadrada and tostig attacked in September of 1066. they were blocked outside of york by Edwin and Morcar.
the battle was a defeat for Morcar and Edwin as they were fighting outside of york rather than in the city walls
Harold heard about the invasion and marched to the north. he was fairly confident William was not going to attack any time soon
battle of Stamford bridge
Harold surprised hadrada and tostig at Stamford bridge and both hadrada and tostig were killed
Harold had won because
- the Vikings left their armour on their ships
- he had an element of surprise
- hadrada and tostig had fought at gate Fulford just days before
- Harold's men broke their shield wall
the battle of hasting - 14th October 1066
after leaving york Harold stopped in London for around 5 days to gather some troops. he then continued south and met William at Senlac hill, near hastings.
the battle began in Harold’s favour especially considering he had the high ground yet his strong shield wall gradually broke down
at one point a rumour went around that William was already dead so he tipped his helmet to show he was alive
why did William win?
William used cavalry
the normals tricked the English into fake security of their shield wall as they used the tactic the feigned retreat
William delayed his invitation until Harold had disbanded the southern fyrd
horses used were specially bred for the battle
Harold’s army had been out since May
he had rushed to the south to fight William
he didn’t have the element of surprise
harold’s men were tired after fighting up north and marching back down
William sailed over during winter storms - he was lucky he made it