Unit 1 key information

The nature, structure and diversity of late Anglo-Saxon society

• In the 10th/11th century, England was one of the wealthiest and most efficient countries in Europe

• It was ruled by the King who was advised by the witan

• England was divided into shires with royal Burhs

• The majority of the population were peasants

• The king was expected to be a warrior, owned the most land and raised taxes

• Earls were rich and powerful, often rivalling each other for land

• Most people worked on the land

• Ceorl was the name for a peasant

• Some ceorls owned their own land but most paid rent to the thegns

• Ceorls served in the fyrd in times of war

• Every person’s life was given a value by the law based on their social group called wergild

• If you murdered someone then you were expected to pay their wergild

• The wergild of a woman was equal to that of a man but the price increased by 50% when she was pregnant

Religion in late Anglo-Saxon England

• The church had many influences

• Unlike the Church of Europe which followed Rome’s insistence that only Latin should be used, the English often used old English during masses

• Many villages worshipped around a stone cross instead of in a church

• The church was reformed by ST Dunstan who was the archbishop of canterbury and devoted his life to the church, improving it by:

  • ending corruption and greed amongst church leaders

  • improving education and commitment with priests, monks and nuns

  • insisting that priests should not marry

  • organising the rebuild of abbeys, churches and monasteries

• Stigand was an example of a corrupt church leader who concentrated on advising the king rather than reforming the church. He broke church rules such as engaging in pluralism and simony and upset the pope who insisted that Stigand give up a church position however Stigand ignored this

Anglo Saxon culture: buildings, art literature

• Anglo-Saxon England produced high quality art including jewels and broches, often with engravings

• A surviving example is the Alfred Jewel which is made up of gold and precious stones forming a depiction of Christ in the centre

• Anglo-Saxon literature was of a large variety including Beowulf poetry, Anglo-Saxon chronicles and The Marvels of The East

• The Anglo-Saxon chronicles are useful as they document the History of Britain from the arrival of Julius Ceaser

• Most Anglo-Saxon buildings were made of wood, making them at risk of fire and have now rotted away

• Anglo-Saxons lived in rectangular one-storey houses iwth hatched straw roofs

• Most stone buildings were churches