Anglo-Saxons PDF

# The Norman Conquest ## What did the Anglo-Saxons do all day? ### Learning objectives - Learn how people lived in Anglo-Saxon England. - Know the ways in which Anglo-Saxons made England prosperous. ### Did you know? In 1065, Anglo-Saxon villagers used vegetable dyes to make their clothes brig...

# The Norman Conquest ## What did the Anglo-Saxons do all day? ### Learning objectives - Learn how people lived in Anglo-Saxon England. - Know the ways in which Anglo-Saxons made England prosperous. ### Did you know? In 1065, Anglo-Saxon villagers used vegetable dyes to make their clothes brightly coloured. They hadn't invented buttons and they used moss or grass as toilet paper. ### Key term * **Hide**: was the amount needed to support a family. ### Working on the land Most Anglo-Saxons lived in villages and worked on the land. There were ceorls, who were free men, and thralls, who were slaves. Each ceorl worked at least one hide* of land in the great open fields that surrounded the villages. They grew barley, rye and wheat, along with peas, beans and flax. Barley was used in brewing beer, rye and wheat in bread-making, and flax was spun and woven into cloth. Sheep, pigs, hens and cows provided wool, meat, eggs and milk, while honey from bees was used for sweetening. Most villages had a lord, usually a thegn (see page 22) who the villagers looked to for protection in times of trouble. In return for this protection, the village ceorls and thralls worked the lord's land for him and gave him 'food rent' - eggs, meat, peas or milk - whatever it was that they produced. ### Working in towns Some villages grew into towns, and in AD 1000 about 10 percent of the population of England lived in a town. Towns grew from markets where people from the surrounding countryside came to buy and sell; some towns specialised in, for example, leather-work or weaving or soap-making. Towns on the coast became busy ports. Ships would carry goods to other ports on the coast of England, or across the seas to Europe. By the 11th century, England was a prosperous country - a rich prize for any invader. ### What was England like before the Battle of Hastings? #### Your turn! 1. Look at Source A. a) What work is being done in these pictures? b) Why do you think a monk bothered to draw pictures of people working on the land? 2. a) Can you solve the riddles in Source B? b) Write your own Saxon riddle and see if anyone in your class can solve it. c) Put together a class riddle book. 3. a) Look at the map in Figure 1.1. With a partner, discuss why people would want to invade England. Put these reasons on a spider diagram with a centre labelled 'Pull factors'. b) Write a paragraph to explain why, by the 11th century, England was attractive to invaders. ### Source A **Honey** was produced all over the country. It was used to sweeten food, make beer and prized as medicine. **Copper and tin** were often used together to make bronze, which was used for tools and jewellery among other things. England was Europe's chief supplier of tin. **Lead** was very valuable and had been used for water pipes by the Romans. **Coins** were made from a range of metals. They were minted in 60 mints dotted around the country. The issuing of coins made it easy for the king to raise taxes. **Wheat and other crops** were easily grown on the fertile agricultural land across the south and east of England. **Fish** was in plentiful supply in the seas all around England. **Wool** was needed to make cloth and this was the most important industry in England. English wool was sold across Europe. ### Source B **Anglo-Saxons were fond of jokes and riddles. Here are two of them.** * Multi-coloured, I flee the sky and the deep earth. There is no place for me on the ground, I make the world grow green with my tears. What am I? * I grow tall and am hairy underneath. Sometimes a beautiful girl grips me, rips off my head and puts me in a pan of water. I make her cry. What am I? **(Answers on page 200.)** ### Figure 1.1: Map showing England's prosperity in the 11th century | Feature | Description | | - | - | | London and other leading towns | centres of trade and wealth | | Iron | Used for making tools and weapons | | Silver | A very important precious metal. It was mined in a number of places in England | | Salt | Was used to preserve food | | Honey | Was produced all over the country | | Copper and tin | Often used together to make bronze | | Lead | Very valuable | | Wheat and other crops | Easily grown on the fertile agricultural land across the south and east of England | | Fish | Plentiful supply in the seas all around England | | Wool | England's most important industry. English wool was soled across Europe | ### Reconstructing the past Anglo-Saxon houses that were lived in by ordinary people have not survived, and there are no drawings or paintings to tell us what they looked like. So how can we find out? #### Your turn! 1. In two to three sentences, explain why it was a good idea for the king to invite the most powerful nobles in the kingdom to advise him. 2. Look at Interpretation 1. Working with a partner, decide what evidence the artist who drew the reconstruction would have needed to make sure the drawing was as accurate as possible. Look back at pages 20-22 to give you some ideas. ### Running the country In 1043, Edward the Confessor became king of England. He ruled England with the help of the Witan. #### Witans The Witan was an assembly of 'wise men'. Edward could invite whoever he wanted to come to a Witan. However, it made good sense to invite the most powerful men in the kingdom. These were the earls, who helped Edward run large areas of England (see the map in Figure 1.2) in return for promising him military help if he needed it. To involve the earls meant they would be likely to support any decisions he made and there would be no rebellions. As well as earls, Edward sometimes invited thegns, bishops and abbots to come to a Witan. Witans did not always meet in the same place and did not always consist of the same people. It all depended on where Edward was and on what problem he was asking for their advice. Witans only gave advice: Edward could still do exactly what he wanted. #### Source C: Anglo-Saxon painting of a Witan. **Key** | Location | | :--- | | York | | River Humber | | Lincoln | | Stamford | | Norwich | | London | | Winchester | | Scotland | | Wales | | Name | | :--- | | Morcar | | Edwin | | Waltheof | | Gyrth | | Leofwine | | Harold | #### Interpretation 1: A reconstruction of 11th-century Anglo-Saxon houses in Norwich, Norfolk #### Checkpoint 1. Where did most Anglo-Saxons work? 2. Who was king of England from 1043 to 1066? 3. What were Witans? 4. Name two men who were earls in 1065. 5. Name two things that made Anglo-Saxon people feel secure in 1065. 6. What was wergild and why was it important? #### Figure 1.2: Map showing the six earldoms of England in 1065, the earls who ran them and the largest towns. #### Justice Anglo-Saxon justice was based on the family. If anyone was wronged, their family was expected to seek revenge. Everyone had a life-price, called a 'wergild'. Thegns were worth more than ceorls, who were worth more than thralls. If a person was murdered, the murderer's family had to pay the murdered person's wergild in full. For lesser crimes, proportions of wergild had to be handed over. Saxons held regular open-air meetings, called folk-moots, which dealt with people who broke the law. #### What was England like before the Battle of Hastings? * Work in groups of five. On a large piece of paper, draw a triangle like the one in the diagram on the right. Write labels or draw pictures to show ceorls, earls, monarch, thegns and thralls in the correct sections on the triangle, with the most powerful at the top and the least powerful at the bottom. * Divide the five roles on the triangle between members of your group. Write your job description on a slip of paper, and add a note saying what you expect from the person in the role below yours. If your role is the one at the bottom of the triangle, write your job description and then what you have to do for the role above you. Stick these slips of paper in the correct places on the triangle.